CSET submits order for future fuel-ready 307,000 dwt tanker sextet

COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (CSET), part of China COSCO SHIPPING Corporation Limited, has recently signed a construction contract with compatriot COSCO Shipbuilding Trading and Dalian Shipbuilding for six eco-friendly 307,000 dwt crude oil tankers.

As disclosed, the sextet, the contract for which was signed in late November, is built to meet future fuel requirements as it is methanol-ready as well as LNG-ready. The units also feature what is described as a “more optimized” Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI).

Representatives from CSET have shared that this order adds to the company’s goal of having a “green, low carbon and intelligent” fleet, as the shipping industry gains speed on its way to carbon emission reductions and, ultimately, going carbon-free.

According to the Chinese player, the vessels’ design has been optimized across an array of hull profiles. This was done to create a ‘balanced’ match between the power output and the speed of the main engines, with the primary purpose of achieving “maximum energy savings” without affecting the sextet’s economic efficiency.

Just two days before this order, COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers celebrated the naming ceremony of two additions to its own fleet at COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Dalian).

The newbuildings in question are the 77,000 dwt Liberia-flagged multipurpose pulp carriers dubbed Green Pecem and Green Suape, of which the former is reportedly fitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems or scrubbers.

COSCO Shipping Specialized Carriers said that the Panamax duo are the ‘world’s largest’ pulp transport ships, measuring a total length of 225 meters, with a width of 32.2 meters and a molded depth of 21 meters.

As per the company, this series introduced a ‘one-to-one’ temperature monitoring, as well as an early warning system.

What is more, the cargo holds of the vessels possess a container-type design and are equipped with rotary dehumidifiers that offer ‘ideal’ conditions for pulp cargo. The vessels are suitable for carrying high-speed rail trains, wind turbine equipment, new energy vehicles, large machinery and ultra-long and overweight steel pipe pile strictures, the Chinese major emphasized.

Among other notable developments this year, in January, CSET eyed methanol as a clean fuel for its fleet, having wrapped up a shipbuilding contract for a separate sextet of tankers in a deal estimated to be worth $449 million (circa RMB 2.9 billion).

Specifically, Hainan COSCO Shipping Energy, the company’s subsidiary, shook hands with Yangzhou COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry for the building of three 114,200 dwt methanol-ready dual fuel Aframax-type crude oil tankers, totaling $289 million, which are slated for delivery in 2026 and 2026.

Moreover, the company commissioned COSCO Shipping Heavy Industry (Dalian) to build one 49,900 dwt MR-type oil tanker at a value of $50 million and then cemented this partnership with an order for two 64,900 dwt Panamaxes at $130 million.

In a most recent development, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and the University of Nottingham Ningbo China (UNNC), in a joint sustainability case collection in Beijing, explored environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices among corporations in China, picking the 20 most “exemplary” cases in the Far East nation.

Yuan Rui Yang, the “world’s first” liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel very large crude carrier (VLCC), which is under CSET’s ownership, topped the list, becoming one of the first ships of its type to lead environmentally friendly shipping innovation.