Jiangnan Shipbuilding Delivers"Panda" Series VLEC

Zhang Chi, Duan Sisi, Chen Leiting

The 99,000 m3 Type-B very large ethane carrier (VLEC) “PACIFIC INEOS GRENADIER” , built by CSSC Jiangnan Shipbuilding and China Shipbuilding Trading (CSTC),for SPDBFL and Shandong Ocean Group Pacific Gas Carrier (Hong Kong)Holding (Pacific Gas), was delivered on May 16. The ship will execute the INEOS and Pacific Gas charter party,shipping American ethane to European crackers for INEOS.

This is the first ship delivered by Jiangnan Shipbuilding since the gradual resumption of production on April 23. The successful delivery of the ship not only expands the strategic ship type of the shipyard, but also further strengthens its leading position and brand influence in the liquefied gas carrier market, expected to further gather the confidence to comprehensively defeat the epidemic.The series has a total of four ships, the first ship was delivered on December 28, 2021, ahead of schedule, and completed the full voyage loading US ethane back to China. Two more are under construction and expected to be delivered this year.

Global first, largest capacity

This ship falls into the Jiangnan“Panda” series, serving the longdistance transport of liquefied ethane,with the designed overall length of 230 m, molded breadth of 36.6 m and molded depth of 22.5 m, equipped with four “BrilliancE®” type-B tanks with independent intellectual property rights and two deck tanks, the maximum tank capacity reaches 99,000 m3. As the largest VLEC in the world,it has the maximum cargo volume under the limit of the envelope line of principal dimensions for Houston Shipping Channel.

We learned that “BrilliancE®”type-B tank has the characteristics of high safety and reliability, long structural fatigue life, low cargo compartment maintenance cost, simple and efficient insulation system, high flexibility of loading goods, no liquid level loading limit, less cargo residue,breaking through the bottleneck in the field of cargo containment system. The capital letter “B” means the type B tank and the capital letter “E”indicates ethane and ethylene.

The ship is equipped with a dual fuel main engine and an axle generator powered with ethane to maintain optimal economy while meeting emission requirements. Classed with ABS and CCS, the ship meets the latest International Code for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk (IGC Code),IMO, the US Coast Guard (USCG) and other relevant international rules, and has universal applicability to major liquefied gas terminals in the world.

In terms of hull form design, the ship adopts the second generation VS-BOW linear form independently developed by Jiangnan Shipbuilding,digital pool (CFD) and ship model test verification are closely integrated,independent diamond tank layout requirements are also considered, the hull hydrodynamic shape and internal space are comprehensively optimized,meeting the requirements of ship energy efficiency design index (EEDI)fourth stage.

It is worth mentioning that the ship is also the world's first civil merchant ship with the epidemic prevention notation (IDM-A) issued by ABS. The reinforced health and quarantine system can effectively block and control the transmission risk of infectious diseases such as COVID-19,enhancing the ability to respond to epidemics.

At present, in the field of type B tanks, Jiangnan Shipbuilding has developed 80,000 m3 type-B tank LNG carrier and 6,000-18,500 m3 LNG fuel tanks that can be configured on large dual-fuel container ships.

Overcome the epidemic impact,ensure delivery

The ship is technically complicated, with high-level construction difficulty and tight cycle,and the epidemic outbreak in Shanghai in March had a huge impact on production and delivery.

With efforts of the construction team, the ship departed for sea trial on March 8. During the trial, the project team set up the epidemic prevention and elimination team, communication team, emergency rescue team,equipment repair team and logistics support team to ensure the safety of personnel and the normal operation of the ship system, and finally completed the trial on schedule. On March 19,the ship returned to the shipyard after the trial voyage. The trial personnel,the owner crew, ship surveyors and service providers strictly observed the epidemic prevention policies, overcame difficulties and dwelled on board.

On the premise of strictly implementing the epidemic prevention and control measures, the delivery team meticulously developed delivery plan,rearranged the construction project scheduling before delivery, evaluated risk items and formulated solutions;adopted the “cloud commissioning”scheme of real-time video on-line guidance to equipment suppliers and completed commissioning and application for inspection of more than ten important equipment systems;paid close attention to outsourcing service providers, conducted specific planning and accurate control,boarded for construction after the silent period, and completed service items in time.

Jiangnan Shipbuilding has achieved excellent results in order taking this year despite the epidemic impact. From January to May 15, the order value of civilian goods reached 16.4 billion yuan, up 76% year on year,among which the order value of civilian goods during the lockdown reached 10 billion yuan.

Currently, China market share of the global VLEC handheld orders hit about 66.7%, all obtained by Jiangnan Shipbuilding. Jiangnan Shipbuilding pledged to continue to make scientific plans, stick to the goal, ride on the momentum and win the battle against the epidemic, resume work and production, and complete annual tasks and targets.