Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries is completing the
commissioning of the world’s first LNG-powered container ship. The 14,800 TEU
ship is expected to undergo its final sea trials and be delivered in
September.
The first of six 154,7000 DWT LNG-powered container ships
ordered by Eastern Pacific Shipping of Singapore, the class has been chartered
to CMA CGM. This first ship will operate as the CMA CGM Tenere. Hyundai expects
to complete construction and delivery of the class by the third quarter of
2022. The ships measure 366 meters by 51 meters with a draught of 16 meters and
are expected to have a top speed of 22 knots.
According to Hyundai, the ships features include being
equipped with a 12,000 cubic meter LNG fuel tank that will make it possible to
operate round-trips between Asia and Europe with only one charge. The LNG fuel
tank is made of nine percent nickel steel, which Hyundai says can maintain
excellent strength and impact toughness even in cryogenic (-163 degrees
Celsius) environments.
In addition, they improved safety and the container loading
efficiency by optimizing the arrangement and design of the LNG fuel tank, fuel
supply system (FGSS), and dual fuel engine required for the LNG propulsion
ship.
Each of the ships will be powered by a new generation of MAN
B&W 11G90ME-GI main engines with a newly-developed Pump Vaporizer Unit
(PVU). According to MAN, the engine is the largest and most powerful (MCR
68,640 kW) gas-engine it has produced setting a new industrial standard for
two-stroke propulsion engines. The new engine also features recent, technical
developments, including the PVU and Pilot Booster Injection Valve (PBIV), and
during the trials demonstrated negligible methane-slip.
The LNG-container ship will be the latest in a series of
unique ships from Hyundai Heavy Industries. In July 2018, it delivered the
world's first LNG-powered large tanker (114,000-ton class). Currently, the
group has orders for 44 LNG-powered ships including bulk carriers, tankers, and
container ships.