Shanghai's Jiangnan-Changxing shipyard has just achieved a major milestone after it officially rolled off its slipway the world's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered container vessel. The delivery of the ultra massive container ship is a landmark achievement not only for the shipyard but also for China's entire shipbuilding industry.
The LNG-powered ship that was launched, called the CMA CGM Jacques Saade, is an ultra-large container vessel with a carrying capacity of 23,112 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo. The ship was named after the world's fourth-largest shipping line and its owner.
The completion of the vessel at the Jiangnan-Changxing shipyard has been touted as a clear testament to the improvements in China's shipbuilding capability and its adoption of new manufacturing technologies. China has been trying to catch up with other major shipyards around Asia, including shipyards owned by companies such as Hyundai Heavy Industries, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, and Samsung Heavy Industries.
What is unique about the newly completed vessel is its use of LNG as fuel instead of the traditional bunker fuel. Due to this fact, the vessel has very low sulfur emissions when compared to traditional fuel-powered container ships. The ship's cooled fuel tank is reportedly big enough to fit the Statue of Liberty.
The ship's source of power also negates the need to install ultra-expensive scrubbers that are necessary to wash sulfur content from the ship's exhaust. The vessel also easily passes the new emission requirements laid out by the International Maritime Organization's IMO 2020 regulations.
According to CMA CGM, its new vessel's engine cuts sulfur oxide and fine particles emissions by around 99 percent. Nitrogen Oxide emissions are also drastically reduced by as much as 85. Meanwhile, carbon dioxide emissions are cut by almost 20 percent when compared to traditional engines.
The Korea Development Bank and Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency previously stated that it expects that more than 60 percent of the world's ship orders will transition to LNG-powered vessels. As more companies try to catch up with stricter emission regulations, the particular type of container vessel will become a much more practical alternative.
The CMA CGM Jacques Saade will be the first of nine ultra-massive LNG-powered container ships to be built on the Jiangnan-Changxing shipyard. CMA CGM plans to have a total of 20 LNG-powered ships in active operation by 2022.
Jiangnan-Changxing shipyard took more than one year to complete the Jacques Saade. The ship will officially enter service next year and will mostly be transporting cargo from Northern Europe to Asia and vice versa. As of the moment, the ship is the world's largest LNG-powered vessel. However, it is only second in size to the MSC Gulsun, which has a carrying capacity of 23,756 TEU.
