China’s Tianjin Southwest Maritime has returned to compatriot CSSC Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding for gas carrier newbuildings.
The LPG carrier owner has contracted the state-owned shipyard to build two 25,000-cbm dual-fuel LPG/ammonia carriers to be delivered in 2026.
Officials at Huangpu Wenchong and Tianjin Southwest were not available for comment.
Brokers said the newbuilding contract was signed some time ago but the deal only became effective recently.
According to local news agencies, this is the first time that dual-fuel LPG/ammonia carriers have been ordered in China.
Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network’s orderbook shows there are 20 midsize gas carriers of between 18,000 cbm and 30,000 cbm being built in China.
Of these, 15 vessels can be powered by LPG and conventional fuel and three are using ethane or conventional fuel. The other two are fitted with scrubbers.
China Classification Society will class the pair of 25,000-cbm ships.
The LPG/ammonia carriers will be equipped with three type-A cargo tanks and two deck tanks that can withstand temperatures of -50C.
The ice-class 1B notation gas ships, which are capable of carrying LPG and ammonia gas will be built to comply with the International Maritime Organization’s Energy Efficiency Design Index Phase 3 regulations.
Huangpu Wenchong is better known for building boxships and multipurpose vessels.
The China State Shipbuilding Corp-controlled yard made its debut in the gas carrier segment in 2019 when Tianjin Southwest ordered a single 9,500-cbm multi-gas ship.
The shipbuilder has since delivered six gas carriers — two multi-gas carriers and four 5,000-cbm LPG ships — to the Chinese owner.
Huangpu Wenchong is currently constructing three 48,000-cbm midsize gas carrier newbuildings for Greek company Benelux Overseas.
Guangdong-based Tianjin Southwest has a fleet of 34 vessels that includes seven VLGCs built between 2016 and 2022, two very large ethane carriers (VLECs), seven asphalt and bitumen carriers, and one midsize gas carrier. The rest are gas ships of less than 10,000 cbm.
On the newbuilding front, the company has three 174,000-cbm LNG carriers on order at Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding and two 99,000-cbm VLECs being built at Jiangnan Shipyard.
