Hudong-Zhonghua LNG carriers to get Silverstream air lubrication tech

Air lubrication manufacturer Silverstream Technologies has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with shipbuilder Hudong-Zhonghua for work on future LNG carrier newbuilds.

Silverstream said on Tuesday that the MoU would see the company‘s air lubrication technology integrated into Hudong-Zhonghua’s newbuilding designs for its future liquefied natural gas carriers to increase operational and fuel efficiencies while reducing fuel costs and emissions.

The signing of the MoU marks 12 months of in-depth collaboration between the two organisations, which culminated in the approval of Silverstream’s technology onto Hudong-Zhonghua’s LNG carrier designs.

It is worth noting that Hudong-Zhonghua is a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), China’s largest manufacturer of LNG carriers with a capacity for six to eight vessels in its yard.

According to the company, the MoU is Silverstream’s first LNG newbuild project and marks a growing interest in air lubrication systems in the Asian market.

Danping Lou, CTO of Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, said: “We are committed to bringing to market the most operational and organizations newbuild vessels for the LNG sector.

“In working closely with Silverstream over the past 12 months, we have seen the real attributes of air lubrication technology and […] it was clear that incorporating it into the designs for our newbuild LNG vessels, in conjunction with other measures, would deliver optimum performance.“