Dalian, DNV To Work on Giant Ship Design
China's Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC) has agreed with Norway's DNV GL to jointly develop an LNG-fuelled, ultra-large containership (ULCV).
Ship classification firm DNV GL said the agreement, signed at the SMM trade fair in Hamburg September 5, is focused on delivering a design that is ready for construction and reflects market needs.
"Interest in alternative fuels has moved from the margins to the centre of the maritime world as environmental regulations designed to reduce shipping's emissions to air come into effect. For many operational uses, the combination of technical maturity, efficiency, availability, and emissions reduction mean that LNG is now a viable solution," said DNV GL, an long-standing supporter of LNG bunkering.
DSIC president Yang Zhi Zhong said: "In developing this new 23,000, 20-ft equivalent unit capacity (TEU), LNG-fuelled ULCV design, we will show that DSIC can deliver vessels at the cutting edge of the market after two 20,000 TEU container vessels were successfully delivered to Cosco Shipping Group this year. We see a continuing strong market for ULCVs, with lower slot costs especially valued on the main trading routes. At the same time the expansion in bunkering infrastructure in both China and Europe means that LNG is becoming a viable solution for container vessels, lowering costs and ensuring compliance with incoming regulations." DSIC is based in the northern Chinese city of Dalian (see banner photo courtesy of the shipbuilder), is China's largest shipbuilder, and claims it was founded back in 1898.
"We look forward to working with DSIC to ensure that the design meets the relevant class and international standards and regulations," said DNV GL's CEO for maritime Knut Orbeck-Nilssen.
The two container vessels mentioned by DSIC are part of a giant LNG-ready order for 11 ULCVs placed by Cosco with three Chinese shipyards – Nantong Cosco KHI Ship Engineering Co (Nacks), DSIC, and Shanghai Waigaoqiao –the first of which, Cosco Shipping Aries, was delivered by Nacks in January 2018.
Paris-based rival Bureau Veritas said November 8, 2017 that it was contracted to provide classification of French shipowner CMA CGM's nine new 23,000 TEU containerships that will be fuelled by LNG. That large order, placed by CMA CGM in September 2017, was split between two Chinese shipyards: Hudong-Zhonghua and Shanghai Waigaoqiao.
Signing the Sept.5 agreement in Hamburg in the foreground are: DISC deputy technical director Guan Yinghua (left) and DNV GL-Maritime's senior vice president and China regional manager Norbert Kray (Photo credit: DNV GL )