China’s Jiangnan Shipyard Group To Build Five LNG Container Ships

China’s Jiangnan Shipyard Group is set to sign a $750mn deal to build five container ships able to run on LNG, China Daily reports.

One of China's largest shipbuilders, Jiangnan will sign the deal to construct the 15,000 TEU, or twenty-foot equivalent unit, dual-fuel container ships at the end of this month, technical director Hu Keyi told the newspaper.

French shipping giant CMA CGM is the customer. The gas industry has been struggling to persuade the operators of container fleets to switch to LNG in order to help reduce emissions and meet the International Maritime Organisation’s 2020 target to cap the sulphur content of shipping fuels at 0.5%.

The ships will be equipped with a bigger membrane LNG fuel tank inside the hull, which is expected to provide strong support to long-haul container transportation, Hu added. They are likely to be used on Asia-Pacific routes.