SWS delivers Aframax dual-fuel tanker Proteus Iwona

Chinese shipbuilder Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) has delivered the second 109,000-dwt Aframax dual-fuel tanker Proteus Iwona to Bank of Communications Financial Leasing Co (BoComm).

This vessel is the first 109,000-dwt Aframax dual-fuel tanker classed by the China Classification Society (CCS) from the series.

Proteus Iwona is a new generation dual-fuel powered ship with the independent intellectual property right developed solely by SWS.

Vessel specifications:

• length of 249.95 meters
• moulded width of 44 meters
• moulded depth of 21.4 meters
• designed draft of 13.5 meters
• design speed 14.5 knots
• cargo oil tank capacity of more than 850K barrels of crude oil.

This ship is fitted with two independent “Type C” LNG fuel tanks and powered by WinGD low-pressure duel fuel engine, which has a cruising range of 14,000 nautical miles in gas mode. Under the gas mode, emissions of Sulfur oxides and particulates are nearly eliminated and nitrogen oxide emissions are greatly reduced, CCS said. The verified Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI) is 28% lower than the baseline.

The LNG-powered tanker forms part of an order for twelve ships BoComm placed back in 2020. Specifically, the LNG-powered LR2 tankers were ordered from China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), supported by seven-year-long charter deals with Shell. The investment was worth a whopping 4.6 billion yuan ($657 million).

Four ships from the batch are being built by CSSC’s shipbuilding arm Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, and the remaining eight by Guangzhou Shipbuilding International (GSI). According to GSI, construction has started on all eight ships from the batch.

CSSC said at the time that the ships would feature an optimized version of the LNG-powered LRII dual-fuel oil tanker design, developed by the two shipbuilders, and would exceed the IMO TIER III emissions standard.

The last three of four ships in this series, being built by SWS, are dual-classed by both LR and CCS and they will be delivered in succession this year, according to SWS.