Wah Kwong welcomes ‘smart’, LNG-ready Eastern Venture

Hong Kong shipowner Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings has taken delivery of a new Ultramax bulk carrier which will be built as a ‘liquified natural gas (LNG) ready’ vessel.

As informed, the bulker was delivered by New Dayang Shipbuilding Co. on 29 August. According to the shipping company, the vessel holds several notable distinctions, including the first newbuilding partnership with SPDB Financial Leasing, and the first installation of a smart shipping system within the fleet.

Eastern Venture is also the first vessel in the world to be granted Bureau Veritas’ (BV) smart ship notation – SMART(EnE1) (smart energy efficiency notation). It is also built as a ‘LNG ready’ vessel.

Wah Kwong highlighted that this represents “a significant step in our fleet renewal strategy aimed at increasing medium-sized bulk carriers”.

The Chinese shipowner has recently secured approval in principle from Bureau Veritas (BV) for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project onboard two ships.

The AiP follows a joint study led by BV, Wah Kwong and Qiyao Environ Tec, which validated the technical feasibility of using CCS technology on existing vessels as a measure to ensure compliance with the IMO’s Carbon Intensity regulation. 

The analysis focused on two bulk carriers in Wah Kwong’s fleet and assessed the viability of using CCS technology to upgrade those vessels’ CII ratings. 

Based on the specific design parameters of the vessels, Qiyao Environ Tec developed a customised design of a CCS unit for the two vessels. The CCS unit has passed laboratory tests, achieving over 85% CO2 capture from the exhaust gas flow, and is being continuously optimised and upgraded. The system is based on an organic amine solution which extracts CO2 from exhaust gas, before it is cooled into liquid form and stored in a low temperature storage tank.