CSET sets up new entity focused on LPG shipping and hydrogen

China’s tanker major COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (CSET) has established a new subsidiary centered around LPG fleet development and hydrogen-based new energy business.

The new entity, Dalian COSCO Shipping Energy Supply Chain, was unveiled on November 15, 2024, and investment and business cooperation agreements with relevant business partners such as Jidian, CNOOC Sales Company, and CGM Liaoning Branch were signed.

As informed, Dalian COSCO Shipping Energy Supply Chain will be mainly engaged in the transportation of gas chemicals such as LPG and the integrated logistics of hydrogen-based green energy.

According to COSCO Shipping Energy, the new company is committed to building “China’s first” and “world-leading” LPG transport fleet and a land-sea channel for hydrogen-based green energy on Northeast China.

It will cover the entire chain of land transportation, warehousing, docks, and shipping on Dalian Changxing Island (Xizhong Island), focusing on improving the resilience and safety level of the industrial chain supply chain, to build an industrial supply chain and create a “win-win chain” of cooperation, the Chinese company explained.

In other company-related news, COSCO Shipping Energy’s 2022-built 337,600 cbm tanker, Yuan Rui Yang, also known as the “world’s first” LNG dual-fuel very large crude carrier (VLCC), was selected as one of the top 20 corporate sustainability case examples by the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC).

The construction and operation of the Yuan Rui Yang is said to be an important milestone in CSET’s sustainable development and innovation as well as a starting point for the company’s focus on green shipping and decarbonization. In 2023, the company formulated the Green and Low-Carbon Transformation and Development Program, placing orders for green methanol dual-fuel tankers, LNG-ready tankers, and methanol-ready tankers.

In 2024, CSET also developed a 50,000-cubic-meter dual-fuel ammonia/LPG vessel design jointly with shipyards which received approvals in principle (AiPs) from classification societies ABS, CCS, and DNV.