Giant LNG fuel tank installed onboard MSC’s dual-fuel boxship (Gallery)

August 27, 2024, by Fatima Bahtić

Chinese shipbuilder Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI), a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, has completed the installation of a Type B liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel tank onboard a 16,000 TEU dual-fuel containership being built for Swiss shipping major MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company.

As disclosed, the installation was completed on August 19, 2024, at the company’s yard in China. The LNG fuel tank has a capacity of 13,000 cubic meters and weighs 1,200 tons. According to GSI, the size and the capacity make it the largest Type B LNG fuel tank used in China.

Guangzhou Shipyard International

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has defined three basic LNG tank types, in addition to membrane tanks. IMO Type A and Type B tanks are non-pressurized, with Type A employing a prismatic design and full secondary barrier, while Type B tanks have a spherical design with a partial secondary barrier.

Since the precision requirements are high, the GSI team conducted three reviews and hired external experts to finalize the project successfully. On August 19, the workers carried out the trial lifting before the formal lifting to ensure that there were no abnormalities.

During the formal lifting and landing process, the operators monitored the changes in the draft and movement of the barge in real time to avoid collisions, escorted the lifting operation, and completed the lifting operation.

The Chinese shipbuilder emphasized that the lifting process will provide valuable experience for the construction of similar ships in the future.

MSC is investing heavily in fleet renewal, with agreements signed for up to 18 new containerships, all to be powered by liquefied natural gas.

Swiss major recently ordered six boxships at Chinese shipyard Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS), and up to twelve more ships at China’s Penglai Jinglu.

MSC’s fleet recently reached a capacity of 6 million TEUs The carrier, owned by the Aponte family, has increased its capacity this year so far by 400,000 TEUs. Deliveries to the carrier recently took a break of a few weeks but resumed with the handover of the MSC Juliette on July 18, 2024. The 16,616 TEU vessel is already the seventeenth maxi Neopanamax that MSC received this year. According to Alphaliner’s recent data, together with ZIM and Hapag-Lloyd, MSC is one of the fastest-growing carriers, with 7.1% fleet capacity growth, which was slightly higher than the market average of 6.2%.

In line with its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, MSC has been a staunch supporter of LNG as a marine fuel. Soren Toft, the company’s CEO, announced that MSC’s fleet renewal plan involves incorporating 100 dual-fuel vessels. Additionally, MSC has joined the SEA LNG coalition to work together on evaluating the potential of bio-LNG, especially renewable synthetic LNG.

Furthermore, in March last year, MSC revealed it is ready to embrace alternative fuels as part of its commitment to decarbonize its operations. The shipowner also said it sees cross-industry collaboration as crucial to scaling these solutions for the maritime industry, and it expects to operate its vessels on a range of fuel options in the future.