In a landmark leap for China’s high-value shipbuilding sector, the country’s first 180,000-cubic-meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, fully designed and constructed by domestic Chinese enterprises, was finalized for delivery on Wednesday at the China Merchants Heavy Industry Haimen Base in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, state broadcaster China Central Television has confirmed.
Measuring 298.8 meters in overall length with a molded breadth of 48 meters, the newly completed vessel incorporates a cutting-edge low-speed dual-fuel propulsion system. It is engineered to deliver standout operational performance, including an extremely low boil-off rate for stored LNG and industry-leading environmental compatibility, addressing key priorities for clean energy transportation globally.
As the largest LNG carrier ever fully built and completed in China to date, the vessel represents a critical technical breakthrough for Chinese shipbuilders in the segment of large-scale clean energy transport vessels. LNG carriers are highly specialized ships purpose-built to carry liquefied natural gas stored at an ultra-cold temperature of -163 degrees Celsius. Widely nicknamed the “crown jewel of the global shipbuilding industry”, these vessels require extraordinarily complex design and manufacturing expertise that only a small number of shipyards around the world have managed to master. Prior to this delivery, only four Chinese shipyards held the capacity to deliver completed LNG carriers; with the launch of this new vessel, China now counts five domestic shipyards with this advanced capability, expanding the country’s production capacity for high-value specialized vessels.
This milestone underscores China’s rapid advancement in moving up the global shipbuilding value chain, turning a once highly restricted niche market into a new strength for domestic manufacturing.