INPEX Expands Its Fleet with Two LNG Vessels

INPEX CORPORATION (INPEX) announced shipbuilding and shipping contracts for two new vessels which will offtake and deliver LNG from the Ichthys LNG Project offshore Western Australia to Japan and Taiwan.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) received an order for a “Sayaendo” series new-generation liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier to transport LNG procured by INPEX CORPORATION from the Ichthys LNG Project in Australia. Sayaendo series ships feature a unique structure that integrates the LNG tank cover with the ship hull, resulting in significantly improved fuel consumption and maintainability. The order was placed with MHI by Ocean Breeze LNG Transport, Ltd. (OBLT), a joint venture between Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (“K” Line) and a subsidiary of INPEX. The ship is scheduled to be delivered to OBLT at the end of 2016. This order is the seventh that MHI has received for a Sayaendo series ship, and follows closely on the heels of another such order that was received last month.

The new LNG carrier will measure 288.0m in length overall (LOA), 48.94m in width, and 11.55m in draft. The 138,000 gross tonnage (75,000 deadweight tonnage) ship will be capable of carrying up to 153,000 m3 of LNG (cargo tank total volume: 155,300m3) in four Moss-type tanks at a service speed of 19.5 knots per hour. The ship will be built at the MHI Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works.

The second shipbuilding contract was signed between Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha and is for one 182,000 m3-type LNG carrier The vessel is to be built at Kawasaki’s Sakaide Shipyard and is slated for completion in October 2016. Once completed, the vessel is scheduled to be used to transport LNG that the CPC Corporation, Taiwan will purchase from the Ichthys LNG Project in Australia.

The latest order is for a newly developed MOSS-type LNG carrier boasting the world’s largest cargo tank capacity of 182,000 m3. This vessel was developed based on the 177,000 m3-type LNG carrier, previously the largest MOSS-type LNG carrier on offer from Kawasaki. The approximately 5,000 m3 increase in cargo tank capacity was achieved by making the most of the design features of the 177,000 m3 Pacific Max and equipping the vessel with two stretched spherical Moss-type tanks and two spherical Moss-type tanks. Stretched spherical tanks have a cylindrical section (equator) approximately 1.6 m in length added to the conventional spherical tank to increase cargo tank capacity. The new vessel will be the first Moss-type LNG carrier to come equipped with a DFD electric propulsion system to offer excellent fuel efficiency across a broad range of speeds.

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Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, June 4, 2013