On April 10, the first batch of shipbuilding contract of the largest LNG shipbuilding project in global shipbuilding industry -- " Qatar North Field Expansion Ship Acquisition Project ", was finally officially signed between Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd., China shipbuilding trading Co., Ltd, and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. 

Under the leadership of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Ltd (CSSC), Hudong-Zhonghua was the first of all shipyards worldwide to sign a batch of orders with Qatar, after nearly three years of unremitting efforts and fierce competition. This "milestone" signing marks that "Qatar North Field Expansion Ship Acquisition Project" officially enters into the execution stage. It marks that QatarEnergy, QatarGas and Mitsui O.S.K Lines, Ltd. highly recognize the ability of Hudong-Zhonghua. Since January 2022, Hudong-Zhonghua has signed 11 large LNG carriers orders, ranking the first with Hyundai Heavy Industries in terms of orders signed, showing Hudong-Zhonghua's increasing influence in the international LNG market.

The signed 174,000 cubic meters LNG carriers are the fifth generation "Changheng Series" independently developed and designed by Hudong-Zhonghua, which integrates the latest design concepts in the LNG carrier industry, and integrates excellent hydrodynamic characteristics and excellent versatility. With a width of 46.4 meters, a depth of 26.25 meters and a total length of 299 meters, it is built according to the technical standards formed by Qatargas and QatarEnergy. It adopts the latest generation of twin-stern fins and carries a number of low-carbon and digital technologies. It has four advantages:

Hudong-Zhonghua CH2.0 double stern fin line has excellent hydrodynamic characteristics, which achieves the best match between reducing self-propelled resistance and improving propulsion efficiency of stern. Excellent sailing efficiency can be achieved in middle and high speed sections. Compared with previous generation of LNG carriers, annual sailing carbon emission can be reduced by more than 4,000 tons.

The design contains the Qatar energy companies operating experience of the world's largest LNG fleet, in view of the high temperature characteristics of the Middle East area, the partition type cooling system design, with optical fiber communication, digital radio, digital technology such as IP phone. The LNG carrier can access 120 LNG terminals worldwide, has excellent global commonality.

The whole ship adopts the integrated lightweight design concept to optimize the weight of empty ship from multiple dimensions. It is more compact and lighter than its predecessor, with a higher cargo loading rate and an additional 800 cubic meters of LNG per voyage.

The ship is equipped with re-liquefaction system, which provides a wider range of oil/gas balance speed for low-carbon navigation. It can meet the various demands of short-haul, mid-haul and long-distance routes for the balance utilization of evaporative gas, and can achieve good economy in various operating modes. 

Hudong-Zhonghua has delivered 30 large LNG carriers and is the leading LNG carrier builder in China. The signing of the first batch of the shipbuilding contracts shows the great confidence  from QatarEnergy/QatarGas to Hudong-Zhonghua for its commitment, which once again proves to the world Hudong-Zhonghua's strong shipbuilding capability. Both parties expressed that they would build the project into a cornerstone of the cooperation between CSSC/HZ and QatarEnergy/QatarGas, and a bridge of exchanges and cooperation between China and Qatar. 

Provided by Pang Da

Proofread by Zhong Mao