Tanker News Roundup | September 12 – New Chinese gas carrier designs, Korean and Japanese yard orderbooks and more

Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean yards secure orders from various owners in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. A Chinese builder meanwhile unveils new designs of four gas carriers of varying capacities.

South Korean yard secures LNG bunkering ship orders

HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE) has been awarded a contract for the construction of two LNG bunkering vessels in a series. The vessels will be handed over to an unnamed European customer following completion.

Each ship will have a total capacity of 18,000 cubic metres. Deliveries are scheduled to commence in November 2027.

Hong Kong owner taps Chinese builder for product tanker newbuildings

Hong Kong shipping company Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings has awarded Chinese shipbuilder the Hengli Group a contract for the construction of two product tankers in a series.

Each ship will have an LOA of 248.8 metres, a beam of 44 metres, a design draught of 13.5 metres, and a deadweight of 114,000. IMO Tier III-compliant engines will deliver a service speed of 14.5 knots and a range of 25,000 nautical miles.

CM Lemos' newest Suezmax tankers to be built in Japan

Greek shipping company CM Lemos, through subsidiary Nereus Shipping, has awarded Japan Marine United a contract for the construction of three Suezmax tankers in a series.

All three 158,600DWT vessels will be delivered to Nereus before the end of 2027.

QatarEnergy orders six large LNG carriers from Chinese builder

QatarEnergy and China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding have entered into agreements for the construction of six ultra-large LNG carriers in a series.

Both QatarEnergy and Hudong-Zhonghua claim that the ships will be among the largest LNG carriers to be built. Each will have a total cargo capacity of 271,000 cubic metres, an LOA of 344 metres, a beam of 53.6 metres, a depth of 27.2 metres, and a design draught of 12 metres. The ships will also be fitted with low-speed, dual-fuel engines.

Chinese yard unveils four new gas carrier designs

China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding recently unveiled four new designs of large-capacity gas carriers, each of which has also been awarded approvals by a number of international classification societies.

The new designs are those for an 88,000-cubic-metre ammonia carrier, a 40,000-cubic-metre liquefied CO2 (LCO2) carrier, a 150,000-cubic-metre ultra-large ethane carrier (ULEC), and a 20,000-cubic-metre LNG bunkering vessel.