Sinogas Management of Singapore has beefed up its order for the biggest VLGCs in the world to a potential five vessels.
French classification society Bureau Veritas (BV) said the shipowner has contracted two firm 93,000-dwt dual-fuel Panda 93P ships, with options attached for three more
In February, TradeWinds had reported that Sinogas sister company Tianjin Southwest Maritime (TSM), based in China, had ordered one firm Panda vessel and one option.
But UK broker Clarksons lists this firm vessel under the ownership of Sinogas, which commercially manages the TSM fleet. It appears Sinogas has now declared the option and added three more.
Bureau Veritas said both firm vessels will be handed over in the first half of 2023.
All five ships could be worth $380m based on brokers' estimates of up to $76m per VLGC.
A great leap forward
Jiangnan Shipyard, part of the state-owned CSSC Group, was reported to be building the first vessel for delivery in August 2023.
"These ships will be the largest VLGCs in the world and they will be powered by LPG," said the classification society.
The deal marks "a further technological leap for Jiangnan in its development of new gas carrier concepts in long-term collaboration with Bureau Veritas", the company added.
The Sinogas order is a significant milestone for both shipyard and class society on the journey to a decarbonised industry, BV believes.
The new design will reduce CO2 emissions by 32% compared to the previous generation of 84,000-cbm VLGCs powered by low-sulphur fuel oil.
"This dramatic reduction reflects the highly optimised design and economies of scale, as well as the use of LPG as fuel," the classification society added.
The hull form will allow increased cargo capacity without significant increases in bunker consumption.
Deck-mounted fuel tanks
The Panda P93 incorporates two deck-mounted LPG fuel tanks, enabling LPG-fuelled operations even when carrying non-LPG cargo.
Jiangnan Shipyard's Hu Keyi, chief of corporate technology, believes gas as fuel will be a reliable pathway to bridge the emission gap.
"Furthermore, Jiangnan aims to be on the cutting-edge of technological development in this field by pushing for 'initiative green' solutions, as opposed to 'passive green' based on existing technology," Hu added.
The order makes Sinogas the third company to sign up for Jiangnan's Panda ships, following Petredec and Chinese LPG importer Oriental Energy.
Sinogas also has two 86,000-cbm VLGCs coming from Jiangnan this year, the last two in a series of three.
The first was delivered earlier this year, joining a 2020-built VLCC in the fleet.
