China wants to build world’s biggest LNG tanker

Chinese state shipbuilding company and Norway-based DNV GL classification society have unveiled a project to develop the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier with a capacity of 270,000 cubic meters.

The two sides signed an agreement on Tuesday during the 19th International Conference & Exhibition on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG2019) in Shanghai, according to one of the sides in the deal, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation.

The firm did not fully reveal the specifications of the future vessel, only stating that the tanker will be able to transport up to 270,000 cubic meters of LNG. It is not clear when construction will start, but all of the technical documents are expected to be ready by the end of next year.

If completed, the new ship will eclipse the biggest LNG transportation vessel in the world – Qatar’s ‘Mozah’ vessel. The tanker, built in 2007, is almost the size of four football fields (345 meters long and 53.8 meters wide) and can carry up to 266,000 cubic meters of LNG.

Hudong-Zhonghua is the only Chinese firm that is capable of building large LNG vessels. Since April 2008, the company has floated at least three such ships with the largest boasting a capacity of 220,000 cubic meters, while two more tankers are currently under construction. Apart from LNG carriers, the firm also develops vessels for the military, oil and bulk carriers, as well as container vessels.

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