Silverstream Technologies, the UK-based air lubrication manufacturer for the shipping industry, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, part of the CSSC Group, related to future LNG carrier projects.
Under the MoU, Silverstream’s air lubrication technology will be integrated into Hudong-Zhonghua’s newbuilding designs for its future LNG carriers.
This is expected to increase operational and fuel efficiencies, reduce fuel costs and emissions by between 6% and 8% for laden and ballast conditions, according to the company.
As explained, the MoU is Silverstream’s first LNG class newbuild project. It is said to represent both the Asian market’s growing interest in air lubrication systems and its wider demand for greater efficiencies and sustainability in newbuild orders.
“We are delighted … to have signed this landmark agreement with Hudong-Zhonghua, one of the world’s largest and most respected ship yards. It is a significant step for Silverstream as we expand into a new vessel class, and further grow our customer base in the important Asian market,” Noah Silberschmidt, CEO of Silverstream Technologies, commented.
The signing of the MoU marks 12 months of in-depth collaboration between the two organizations, which culminated in the approval of Silverstream’s technology onto Hudong-Zhonghua’s LNG carrier newbuild designs. The duo plans to continue to collaborate in order “to drive the sales process with prospective shipowners, working together to ensure the optimum efficiency and design on future orders from the yard”.
“In working closely with Silverstream over the past 12 months, we have seen the real attributes of air lubrication technology and the Silverstream System, and it was clear that incorporating it into the designs for our newbuild LNG vessels, in conjunction with other measures, would deliver optimum performance,” Danping Lou, Chief Technical Officer, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, said.
“We are confident that these new vessels will set the benchmarks for vessel design and performance in the LNG sector.”
Hudong-Zhonghua is a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, China’s largest shipbuilding group, and the second-largest in the world. It has a capacity for six to eight LNG carriers in its yard.