Beijing: A report in the China Daily hints at two more yards on the mainland readying to enter the LNG carrier construction business, on the back of huge gas demand in the world's most populous nation.
Statistics from Customs show that China imported 4.39 million tons of LNG in the first 10 months of 2009. It imported 3.34 million tons and 2.91 million tons respectively in 2008 and 2007. ?China would need about 38 LNG carriers by 2010 and more than 65 by 2015 to transport gas, Cao Yousheng, director of China Shipbuilding Economic Research Center, told Caijing Magazine recently. ? Shanghai-based shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua is the first Chinese company that is piloting the building of an LNG carrier. ?"We have just finished the last vessel in the first lot of five orders that we got," said Jiang Minda, deputy secretary general with Hudong-Zhonghua. Each LNG carrier has a storage capacity of 147,000 metric meters.
The five vessels have been built for China LNG Shipping (Holdings) Co, a joint venture of China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co, China Merchants Group and China National Offshore Oil Corp. The first set of LNG carriers would be used at the receiving terminals in Guangdong and Fujian. ?Encouraged by the success of the Chinese firm, more domestic shipbuilders are now looking at moving into LNG carriers. The newspaper hinted at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co, which Seatrade Asia Online noted was displaying an LNG model prominently at its recent stand at Marintec China, as well as Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries. [11/12/09]
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