Chinese shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua has signed its largest LNG carrier shipbuilding order to date with Japanese shipping major Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).
The contract is for the construction of six 174,000-cubic-metres LNGCs of the latest generation of the ‘Changheng Series’. It amounts to about 7.5 billion yuan or $1.18 billion, local news reported.
Besides Hudong-Zhonghua, a subsidiary of China Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), the project’s participants also include China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) and China COSCO Shipping.
Thus, the project is a case of the three major enterprises ensuring national energy security; as well as promoting the development of LNG industry chain.
Moreover, this is the order with the largest number and the largest contract value for the Chinese shipbuilder in the field of LNG carrier construction in the past ten years.
After the delivery to MOL , CNOOC Gas & Power will charter the ships.
So far, in the first week of 2022, Hudong Zhonghua has received a total of seven orders for LNG carriers. At present, it has 23 LNG carriers on order, nine under construction, with the delivery period in 2025.