Høglund to supply automation and gas management systems for Tianjin Southwest Maritime VLECs

Systems integration specialist Høglund has signed two more contracts with Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co Ltd and Babcock LGE to supply integrated automation and control systems (IACS) and gas handling for two Tianjin Southwest Maritime-owned very large ethane carrier (VLEC) newbuilds. 

This is the second time in less than a year that Høglund is contracted by Jiangnan and Babcock to collaborate on a newbuilding project, following a previous joint project to supply an IACS and gas handling for two Pacific Gas-owned VLEC newbuilds in August 2020.

As explained, the recent contracts fulfil rigorous specifications for fully integrated automation, power management system (PMS) and gas handling, and incorporate a ship performance monitor to help support long-term performance optimisation, giving users easy access to the wealth of data generated by the systems.

The two 93,000 cubic meter VLECs, which are being built at Jiangnan shipyard in China, will be the next VLEC additions to the Chinese gas carrier operator’s fleet and, following their delivery, the two newbuildings will commence a long-term charter Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical.

The effective integration of automation and gas handling systems on gas newbuilds is widely regarded in the shipping community as a significant engineering challenge. Lack of appropriate consideration for automation and integration often results in vessels becoming too complex and remarkably challenging to operate and maintain.

These challenges can only be overcome with effective collaboration between yards, suppliers and marine solutions specialists on the design and installation of integrated systems, according to Høglund.

“It’s … wonderful to see that the industry continues to recognise the need for joined-up thinking and collaboration in engineering to develop and deliver outstanding performance and reliability system integration services,” David Gunaseelan, Vice President of Sales at Høglund Marine Solutions, commented.