China’s Jiangnan Shipyard Delivers Largest LPG Gas Carrier

Harzand has a capacity to transport 93,000 cbm making it the largest VLGC according to CSSC (Jiangnan)

PUBLISHED APR 26, 2023 6:12 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Chinese officials celebrated the delivery today, April 26, for what they are reporting is the world’s largest dual-fuel LPG carrier while highlighting the advanced design feature of the new generation of the ships. The naming ceremony for the Harzand (60,000 dwt) was conducted yesterday at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai.

The vessel is part of what the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) is calling a fourth-generation design that improves fuel efficiency versus the yard’s earlier designs as well as increasing carrying capacity. The Harzand is 754 feet in length with a carry capacity of 93,000 cubic meters of LPG. Ordered in 2020 by Petredec of Singapore, the original order was for three vessels due for delivery in 2023 along with an option that was later exercised for three additional vessels.

The ship is fitted with MAN ES LGIP engines and a shaft generator to utilize LPG to provide auxiliary power at sea. The hull design developed by Jiangnan incorporates a new bow shape and rudder energy saving device to improve hull efficiency and lower fuel consumption. The shipyard reports the vessel using low sulfur fuel oil (LSFO) will emit 30 percent less CO2 than the previous generation of 84,000 cbm vessels. The Harzand is designed for an operating speed of 16.5 knots with a fuel range of 23,000 nautical miles. The design was balanced to ensure maximum efficiency when the vessel is sailing fully loaded, with ballast, or liquid cargo.

Other innovations were used during the construction to speed the vessel’s assembly including the first application of domestically produced cryogenic steel. A new approach to testing and trials was also used combining the sea trials, gas test and trials into a simultaneous process to speed the delivery of the ship.

Petredec previously took delivery on four of the shipyard’s 84,000 cbm LPG carriers in 2020. The company has been working with the shipyard since 2007 and has ordered a total of 19 LPG and ethylene carriers from Jiangnan.

CSSC is also highlighting the introduction of the new class as they latest step for the shipyard which has emerged as a leader in the sector. They noted that Jiangnan received its first order for a VLGC in 2012 and since has received orders for 52 vessels, including 14 of its latest 93,000 cbm vessels. CSSC reports the shipyard has caught up to its peers and become a leader in building VLGC ships.

Aramco Ships First "Low-Carbon" Ammonia for Power Generation to Japan

The consignment of low-carbon ammonia arrives at a refinery in Chiba, Japan (Aramco)

PUBLISHED APR 23, 2023 8:17 PM BY THE MARITIME EXECUTIVE

 

Saudi Aramco and Aramco-owned petchem firm SABIC have shipped the first cargo of "low-carbon ammonia" for use in power generation in Japan, the firms announced Friday. 

The low-carbon ammonia was produced by SABIC Agri-Nutrients with fossil-fuel feedstock from Aramco; sold by Aramco to Fuji Oil Company; and transported by Mitsui O.S.K. Lines. The consignment has arrived at Fuji Oil's Sodegaura oil refinery in Japan, where it will be burned along with other feedstocks to generate power for refining operations. The project parallels a broader policy push in Japan to import clean ammonia and combust it along with coal in conventional powerplants.

SABIC produces conventional hydrogen and ammonia from natural gas feedstocks. According to Aramco, this particular cargo of ammonia was independently-certified as "low-carbon" because the CO2 from the manufacturing process was captured and utilized in downstream applications. The partners did not specify the end use, but a previous shipment repurposed the CO2 to make methanol. 

“Saudi Arabia is working towards becoming the world’s largest exporter of clean (blue) hydrogen by 2030. Our Kingdom maintains large natural gas reserves and ample renewable energy which enable a capacity to produce clean (blue) hydrogen at a competitive cost – this can then be converted into ammonia,” said HRH Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Energy Minister of Saudi Arabia.

Efforts to adapt conventional, gas-derived "gray" ammonia to the green transition are gathering steam. Earlier this month, Yara Clean Ammonia and Enbridge announced plans to develop and build a low-carbon blue ammonia facility in Texas. The $2.5-3.0 billion plant will be located at the Enbridge Ingleside Energy Center (EIEC) near Corpus Christi. About 95 percent of the CO2 generated from production will be captured and permanently stored belowground, not reused.