Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s biggest shipbuilder, today won an USD 400 million order to build two 155,000 cbm LNG carriers for Singapore-based BW Maritime.
Mr. Kim Oi-hyun, senior executive vice president and CEO of Hyundai Heavy and Mr. Clarence Lui, BW Maritime CFO & executive vice president, signed the contract that also includes an option to build two same class LNG ships.
These membrane-type LNG carriers, measuring 228 m in length, 44.2 m in width and 26 m in depth, are due for delivery in the second half of 2014 and the first half of 2015. The ships for liquefied natural gas feature the Dual Fuel Diesel Engine System (DFDE) which allows the ship to run both on oil fuel or natural gas.
Hyundai Heavy has been taking the lead in developing technologies for LNG carriers such as building Korea’s first LNG ship in 1996, Korea’s first DFDE-type LNG carriers in 2007, and the world’s first new LNG-floating storage regasification unit in June 2011. Moreover, Hyundai Heavy has been developing a special welding system that can work on the thick aluminum plates used for the LNG tanks since 2010.
The Ulsan, South-Korea based company has won eight LNG carriers (including 2 LNG ships its affiliated company Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries received) and two LNG-FSRU this year.
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Source: HHI, September 18, 2011.