Small LNG Tankers
Samsung Heavy Industries received an order for two small liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers from Korea Line Corp. for about US$100 million.
On May 22, Samsung Heavy Industries announced that the company received a shipbuilding order from Korea Line Corp. which signed a 20-year contract for transporting LNG from KOGAS in April.
The vessel will be equipped with a Korean type cargo hold (KC-1) developed through domestic technology as a 7,500-cubic-meter LNG carrier, and one of the two ships will be built with an LNG tanker-cum-bunkering ship combined with an LNG refueling function. Their delivery times are May and December 2019, respectively. With this order, Samsung Heavy Industries is expected to not only accumulate experience in building KC-1 type LNG carriers equipped with Korean-type cargo holds but advance into the small LNG tanker and LNG bunkering ship markets.
The Korean-type cargo hold is a cargo hold system jointly developed by KOGAS and three major Korean shipbuilding companies with pure Korean technologies for technological independence in building LNG tankers.
Samsung Heavy Industries clinched an order for two KC-1 type 174,000-cubic-meter LNG tankers in Korea, a first for a Korean shipbuilder in 2015. This time, the shipbuilder two small KC-1 type LNG tankers once again, which will empower the shipbuilder to accumulate shipbuilding experience and technology in this sector.
In addition, this order will earn Samsung Heavy Industries a bridgehead for entry into the small LNG tanker and LNG bunkering ship sectors, which are expected to expand in the future.