Saga LNG Shipping’s Newbuilding Completes Gas Trials

Saga LNG Shipping completed gas trials for its new LNG carrier, Saga Dawn, at an anchorage near Shanghai, China, on June 16, 2019.

The company said that the 45,000 m3 vessel “successfully cooled down one of its three cargo tanks” and loaded around 2,300 m3 of LNG at Shanghai’s Wuhaogou terminal on May 26.

The tanker departed the terminal on its way to the anchorage in the afternoon of May 27, where it would finalize the gas trial program.

Over a three-week span, Saga Dawn completed a full cool down and warm up of all three cargo tanks, including testing of all engines, GCU, and cargo handling equipment.

Additionally, the company said that immediately following warm up, each tank completed global tightness testing to confirm the integrity of the secondary barrier system.

“The successful completion of Saga Dawn’s gas trials marks the beginning of a new era for LNG containment technology and the LNG shipbuilding industry. In reaching this final milestone of the construction process, we are very proud to share with the market that our Saga Dawn, the world’s first LNG carrier featuring the LNT A-BOX, is now ready for service,” David Wu, Founder and CEO of Saga LNG Shipping.

Saga Dawn will be delivered this July and enter into service shortly after. The ABS-classed vessel was built at China Merchants Heavy Industry’s Jiangsu yard and features Wärtsilä’s dual-fuel main and auxiliary engines.