One of two small LNG carriers under construction for Avenir LNG at Keppel Nantong Shipyard in China was damaged by fire late on Saturday.

Workers were performing welding work on the second of a pair of 7,500-cbm LNG newbuildings under construction at the yard when insulation material surrounding one of the vessel’s 3,750-cbm type C cargo tanks caught fire.

The blaze was extinguished after an hour.

Sources told TradeWinds' sister publication Upstream that flames ran through 80% of the tank, but only the insulation above the equatorial ring of the tank was seriously burned.

A Keppel Nantong spokesperson said that there were no injuries to staff at the yard.

Avenir chief executive Andrew Pickering said the company is still gathering information about the incident.

He stressed that no one was hurt in the fire.

But Pickering added: “We are taking this incident very seriously with the view of safety being our primary concern.”

The vessel is scheduled to be delivered in March 2020, but as of Monday there has been no word on how the fire will impact the delivery date.

Avenir LNG, a joint venture set up by Stolt-Nielsen Limited, Golar LNG and Höegh LNG, signed up for the pair with Nantong’s parent Keppel Offshore & Marine last year.

Orders for two additional option vessels were later switched to Chinese shipbuilder Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co.

The incident is being investigated.