COSCO: ‘World’s first’ LNG dual-fuel VLCC delivered in China

The delivery ceremony for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel very large crude carrier (VLCC), described by China Classification Society (CCS) as the world’s first, was held on 28 February, at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company (DSIC).

The delivery of Yuan Rui Yang to the shipping company COSCO is said to mark a significant milestone for CCS and China in developing vessels that cut CO2 emissions as part of the country’s green energy drive across the shipping supply and logistics chain.

The 333-metre long vessel will be operated by COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Company using LNG as its main fuel.

It is equipped with a dual-fuel engine, power generators and boiler. In gas mode, the ship’s endurance can reach 12,000 nautical miles, with a combined endurance for fuel and gas of 24,000 nautical miles. It makes the design energy efficiency index (EEDI) about 39.3% lower than the baseline value.

Yuan Rui Yang has also received class notations including Natural Gas Fuel, i-Ship(E) for ship intelligent energy efficiency, Green Ship I and NEC (III) for NOx emission control.

It is designed with the C-type storage tanks, which are two 3,500 cbm LNG low-temperature storage tanks with completely independent intellectual property rights obtained for the vessel.

Yang Guang, president of CCS, said that the delivery of the vessel shows CCS’ commitment to clean energy innovation boosting the use of LNG, as the main fuel for large-scale vessels like VLCCs. 

Recently, the classification society issued an approval in principle (AiP) for the green methanol-powered VLCC ship concept jointly developed by COSCO SHIPPING Energy and DSIC.

The vessel is equipped with two methanol fuel tanks with a total of 11,000 cubic metres, which can meet the fuel requirements of the whole ship’s main engine, auxiliary engine and boiler for the entire voyage. The endurance reaches 23,000 nautical miles.

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