On October 11th, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding’s new plant area No. 2 dock and the western plant area No. 2 dock simultaneously completed undocking operations. The company achieved the feat of undocking three LNG carriers on the same day for the first time, setting a new production record in the field of LNG carrier construction with the successful completion of three major production milestones on the same day.
The three LNG carriers undocked on the same day are the PETRONAS Project Hull No. 2 H1895A, the CNOOC Phase II Project Hull No. 3 H1888A, and the CNOOC Project Hull No. 6 H1885A. This important milestone is a key practice of Hudong-Zhonghua’s firm implementation of its 2025 business strategy, further consolidating its leading position in the global high-end LNG equipment field and demonstrating its core strength in quality and efficiency, technological innovation, and industrial leadership.
Leaders and guests including Xie Yihong, Head of the Energy Carrier Business Department at Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (China) Co., Ltd., Koji Ogawara, Site Manager of the Shipowner’s Supervision Team, Zhang Qinlei, Manager of DNV’s Shanghai Region Newbuilding Department, and Huang Huabing, Deputy Chief LNG Builder at Hudong-Zhonghua, attended the undocking ceremony for the PETRONAS Project Hull No. 2 H1895A.
Leaders and guests including Cao Huanan, China LNG Technical Director at NYK Line (China) Co., Ltd., Fukunaga Keita, Leader of the Shipowner’s Site Supervision Team, Zhang Qinlei, Manager of DNV’s Shanghai Region Newbuilding Department, Chen Zhifei, Site Manager of China Classification Society, and Zhang Shaoying, Deputy Chief LNG Builder at Hudong-Zhonghua, attended the undocking ceremony for the CNOOC Phase II Project Hull No. 3 H1888A.
Leaders and guests including Shimoichi Shimoita, General Manager of the Technical Department at Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (China) Co., Ltd., Park Jung-mok, Leader of the Resident Supervision Team, Chen Hongjing, Resident Project Manager of the American Bureau of Shipping, Sun Xiaodong, Resident Project Manager of China Classification Society, and Zhang Shaoying, Deputy Chief LNG Builder at Hudong-Zhonghua, attended the undocking ceremony for the CNOOC Project Hull No. 6 H1885A.
These three new vessels are all fifth-generation “Changheng Series” LNG carriers, benchmark products independently developed by Hudong-Zhonghua. Compared with the previous generation, the lightweight design reduces the lightweight displacement by 1,500 tons, and the adoption of the twin-skeg line type improves sailing efficiency, allowing for an additional 800 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas to be loaded per voyage. In terms of low-carbon performance, this ship type reduces daily carbon emissions by over 10 tons, lowers fuel and gas consumption by 10%, and reduces LNG boil-off gas by 15%, with all indicators reaching globally leading levels.
In recent years, Hudong-Zhonghua has made significant progress in improving the completeness of ships in the dock. Currently, for the 174,000 cubic meter LNG carriers at undocking, the installation completion rate of superstructure equipment exceeds 80%, and strength tests are completed for more than half of the compartments. This ultra-high completeness shortens the subsequent pier commissioning cycle, and the construction technology has reached internationally advanced levels. During the construction of this batch, consecutive high temperatures and extreme heat posed many challenges for on-site operations. However, the construction team united and overcame the difficulties. The H1885A ship undocked this time was already basically in the sighting condition during the half-hull floating operation, with the cargo machinery room half-block lifted onto the ship, undocking topcoat finished, and strength tests completed for all tanks in the engine room. These are all firsts in history, creating favorable construction conditions for subsequent assembly departments.
On the same day, the PETRONAS Project H1896A and the Qatar Energy Project H1794A also successfully completed the strength submission for the ballast tanks during the half-hull floating operation, laying a solid foundation for the dock production of the next batch of ships. The achievement of these numerous production results is attributed to Hudong-Zhonghua’s deep innovation in construction models and lean management. Hudong-Zhonghua pioneered the parallel semi-tandem construction model for four LNG carriers in a single dock. By optimizing the use of dock space and efficiently connecting production processes, a rapid production rhythm with simultaneous advancement of multiple ships is achieved. This model helped Hudong-Zhonghua deliver 8 LNG carriers in 2024, setting a new record for annual LNG carrier deliveries in China.
Currently, Hudong-Zhonghua has delivered 52 LNG carriers, while the number of LNG carriers under construction has reached a record 24. This fully demonstrates the great success of the company’s actively implemented LNG capacity doubling strategy, which holds significant strategic importance for national energy security and the development of the shipbuilding industry.
Facing fierce competition in the global LNG carrier market, Hudong-Zhonghua takes this record as a new starting point, continuously deepens lean management and digital transformation, and firmly advances towards the new goal of delivering more than 10 large LNG carriers in 2025.
