Celsius linked to order of up to 8 LNG carriers at CMI

China Merchants Industry Holding (CMI), a manufacturing flagship of China Merchants Group, has won a contract for the construction of up to eight 180,000 cbm LNG carriers from an undisclosed European shipowner.

The company behind the contract, which includes four firm orders plus four options, is believed to be Danish shipowner Celsius Tankers. The order is being reported just a month after Celsius placed an order for an additional 180,000 cbm LNG carrier at Samsung Heavy Industries pushing its LNG carrier fleet to 14 vessels. The company has a fleet of over 45 ships, which include chemical and product tankers, and container feeders.

The company said in November the new orders were in line with its strategy to grow within the LNG market and to reduce its environmental impact by investing in vessels with lower CO2 emissions and methane slip.

The latest newbuildings at CMI have been jointly designed by Deltamarine and China Merchants Industry’s Haimen production base in Jiangsu, with the first vessel from the batch expected for delivery in 2026, according to Chinese media reports.

The ships will be fitted with GTT Mark III Flex System in line with the technical assistance and licence agreement GTT signed with China Merchants Heavy Industries-Jiangsu (CMHI-Jiangsu), a subsidiary of CMI, back in October 2022.

GTT and China Merchant Industry Holdings have been cooperating for a decade, with the first Technical Service Agreement signed in 2013 for the maintenance and repair of LNGCs.

CMI owns 7 shipbuilding and repair bases in strategic locations in China and its main business focus has been on marine and offshore repairs and conversion, equipment manufacturing, LNG carriers, cruise ships and specialized newbuildings. The construction of LNG carriers and a larger share of the market is one of the company’s strategic goals, making this order a major milestone for the company.

The shipbuilder has already gathered know-how in building of mid-size LNG carriers. To remind, in 2019 China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) in Haimen, China delivered the 45,000-cbm LNG carrier Saga Dawn. The ship has been described as the world’s first LNG carrier featuring an IMO type A LNG containment system, based on LNT Marine’s patented LNT A-BOX design.