CIMC SOE lays keel for new 21,000 dwt dual-fuel container vessel

Chinese shipbuilder Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore ＆ Engineering (CIMC SOE) has laid the keel for a 1,450 TEU dual-fuel containership.

The ceremony was held on the company’s West Area Shipway on October 18, 2024, after which full-scale construction work on the new vessel is to proceed.

Offshore Energy understood that the ship in question is the 21,000 dwt Seaboard Sky feeder newbuilding, which was, according to London-based data provider VesselsValue, commissioned by American ocean transportation company Seaboard Marine as part of a 2 + 2 en bloc order placed in June 2023.

As understood, the container vessel possesses an overall length of 169.5 meters, a designed draught of 9 meters, and a breadth of 27.6 meters.

In addition to this, the newbuilding is said to rely on a dual-fuel propulsion system using liquefied natural gas (LNG), fitted with a high-pressure LNG dual-fuel main engine from Germany’s manufacturer MAN Energy Solution (MAN ES). These features are said to aid the ship in mitigating various pollutant emissions and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during operation.

In an effort to improve the vessel’s environmental performance and operational efficiency, CIMC SOE explained that the newbuilding was outfitted with the company’s LNG fuel gas supply system (FGSS) and a horizontal triple C-type fuel tank—a ‘world’s first’ according to the company.

In April 2024, the shipbuilder entered into a contract with UK’s midstream LNG & BioLNG company Avenir LNG for two 20,000 cbm LNG bunker & supply vessels. The 160-meter-long units, which also feature the Type C tank designs, are slated for delivery in Q4 2026 and Q1 2027, respectively.

More recently, in August, CIMC SOE handed over the first of a series of three 7,600 cbm LNG bunker vessels, the Seaspan Garibaldi, to Canadian shipowner Seaspan. The ship was created in cooperation with VARD Marine and is considered to be Seaspan’s first LNG bunker barge in North America.

Recently, the Chinese shipping market has seen a skyrocketing upward trajectory under the influence of the Red Sea crisis as well as other factors, including those like cyclical turnover of capacity. Moreover, the push for green operations has driven strong demand in the shipbuilding sector, with the sector maintaining a ‘high degree of prosperity’ and the price of new vessels continuing to increase.

The surge in new order commissions has been particularly notable since April 2023, according to CIMC SOE, based on the China New Shipbuilding Price Index (CNPI) data.

The Shanghai International Shipping Institute further highlighted that, on the grounds of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s (MIIT) available information, the volume of new orders in the country in the first half of 2024 went up by roughly 43.9%. This is believed to account for 74.70% of the world’s market share, which could potentially, and very soon, turn China into a ‘true global center’.

The China Shipbuilding Industry Prosperity Index (CPI) released by the China Shipbuilding Association (CSA) for the second quarter of 2024 confirmed this, showing a boost of 144 points for the shipbuilding industry and, thus, leading it toward a ‘high prosperity’ zone, the institute noted.

What is more, the General Administration of Customs released a report showing that from January to July this year, China’s cumulative ship exports (3,470 ships in total) represent an increase of 28,30% year-on-year, amounting to an investment of 173.679 billion yuan (circa $24.38 billion), which is a boost of 84.40% year-on-year.

Furthermore, as disclosed in another 2023 overview, given the numbers maintaining a ‘stable’ trajectory, industry insiders argue that China’s shipbuilding prowess would persist—to the end of 2024 and beyond—mainly in the export sector as the demand for sustainable fuels rises.