Chineseshipbuilders are securing growing orders for producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels this year amid the deepening energy crisis in Europe, as the latest data shows nearly 30 percent of global orders have gone to China from January to August.
LNGships are widely seen as the representation of the highest level ofshipbuilding. It requires an extremely high standard for safety to maintain natural gas at a liquefied state, as LNG spills and vapor dispersion could lead to catastrophic explosions.
The most challenging part of building LNGships lie within the cargo compartment. Invar, a special type of metal material that can remain stable under 160 degrees below Celsius, is required to contain LNG. Assembling an Invar-made compartment takes a delicate process, with the most complicated 10 percent of the welding still requiring manual work.
“Welding is very difficult, because the thickness of the Invar board is only 0.7 millimeters, like some cardboard boxes. The electric currents, the welding hand positions, and the speed must be well controlled in the welding process, for the steel plate will be welded through on the slightest mistake,” said Shen Jie, Hudong–ZhonghuaShipbuilding’s deputy director of maintenance systems.
As the shortage of natural gas in Europe continues to intensify, the demand for LNGships in the international market has risen sharply this year. The average delivery time for LNGships is as long as 30-50 months. As the first Chineseshipbuilder to acquire the technology to build LNGships, Hudong–Zhonghua now holds orders for over 30 LNG vessels, and its delivery schedule has already been filled to 2027.
“Our technology is on the same level with world classshipyards. We are as good as anyshipyard in the world, and in some respects, particularly in areas such as mending solder leaks, we are in the lead,” said Chen Jun, Hudong–Zhonghua’s general manager.
According to the China Association ofShipbuilding Industry, Chinese LNGships took up 27.3 percent of the global orders in the first eight months of the year.
