Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries held a christening ceremony on Thursday for the third Sayaringo STaGE next generation liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier.
The christening ceremony was held at the Koyagi Plant of MHI’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works.
The ship named LNG Juno has been built for MOG-X LNG Shipholding, a unit of Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL).
The LNG carrier will transport the chilled fuel from projects such as the Freeport LNG export project in the U.S. state of Texas, in which Osaka Gas is participating, according to MHI.
The LNG Juno is 297.5m long, has a width of 48.94m, depth of 27m, and a draft of 11.5m.
Deadweight capacity is approximately 80,300 tons—the largest within the Sayaringo series—and the total holding capacity of the tanks is 180,000 cbm, MHI said.
The Sayaringo STaGE is a successor to the “Sayaendo” vessel concept.
The adoption of the apple-shaped tanks and hybrid propulsion system functionality in the new Sayaringo STaGE has enabled a “significant increase in LNG carrying capacity and overall fuel efficiency,” according to MHI.
STaGE, an acronym deriving from “Steam Turbine and Gas Engines,” is a hybrid propulsion system combining a steam turbine and engines that can be fired by gas.
“Efficient use of the engines’ waste heat to drive the steam turbine results in substantial improvement in propulsion efficiency, enabling high-efficiency navigation throughout a full range of speeds,” MHI said.