Ahead of Chinese Shipbuilders
The Korean and Chinese shipbuilding industries are recording mixed results in the market of large containerships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). While Korea succeeded in building the world's first LNG-powered super container ship, China, the first country to win an order for an LNG-powered super container ship has delayed the completion of the ship for more than a year due to limitations in its technology.
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, a shipbuilding arm of Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, announced on Aug 24 that it has completed the test operation of a 14,800-TEU LNG-powered container ship ordered by Singapore's EPS and will deliver it to the client on Sept. 15.
The vessel is the world's first LNG-fueled large container ship. It is 366 meters long, 51 meters wide and 29.9 meters tall. The vessel is loaded with a large 12,000-cubic-meter LNG fuel tank, which allows it to travel back and forth between Asia and Europe on a single charge. The LNG fuel tank is built with nine percent nickel steel that can maintain excellent strength and impact toughness even in a cryogenic (-163°C) environment. In addition, the shipbuilder has optimized the layout and design of the fuel tank, the fuel gas supply system (FGSS) and a dual fuel engine needed for an LNG-powered ship, boosting its safety and container loading efficiency.
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries received an order to build six such ships from EPS in April 2018. They will be delivered by the third quarter of 2022.
Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries has become the world's first shipbuilder to build an LNG-powered container carrier thanks to its shipbuilding prowess, although it received the order later than a Chinese shipbuilder. French shipping company CMA CGM awarded China's SCS Shipbuilding an order to build a 23,000 TEU LNG-powered containership in September 2017. The vessel's initial delivery date was November 2019, but the delivery was delayed due to technical problems and the ship is still at the dockyard. Some experts predict that it will be difficult for the Chinese shipyard to deliver the vessel within 2020.
Industry observers say that while Korean shipbuilders are ahead of their Chinese rivals in LNG-powered vessel technology, the Chinese shipbuilding industry is expanding investment in manufacturing technology and related parts to catch up with their Korean competitors. Chinese shipbuilders are accumulating experience in building ships by receiving orders in exchange for big financial support for clients. They are also speeding up their moves to upgrade their technology levels. China's Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group set up Jiangsu Yangzijiang-Mitsui Shipbuilding with an affiliate of Japan's Mitsui Group in 2019, aiming to build medium-sized LNG carriers in 2022. China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. (CSIC) began to design and develop large-scale LNG carriers by mobilizing a research institute under its wing.
Clarkson and Lloyd’s Register predicted that LNG-powered ships will account for 60.3 percent of the world's new ship market by 2025.