Another Mammoth Gas Ship Ordered for MHI
The U.S. Shale Gas Revolution continues to drive orders for some of the world’s largest, most sophisticated tonnage.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) received an order from Astomos Energy Corporation for a very large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier. The LPG carrier on order is identical to a vessel ordered to MHI by Astomos Energy late last year. Completion and delivery of the ship are scheduled for the first half of 2016.
The newly ordered LPG carrier will measure 230.0 meters (m) in length overall (LOA), 36.6m in width and 11.1m in draft, with gross tonnage of 48,300 tons (t) and deadweight tonnage of 51,100t. It will have capacity to carry up to 83,000 cubic meters (m3) of LPG. The adoption of MHI's unique hull design and other features will provide the carrier with superlative fuel efficiency and outstanding adaptability to the diverse connecting conditions of the world's LPG terminals. The ship will also be equipped with the industry's most advanced systems, including mooring arrangement, to enable passage through the newly expanding Panama Canal, which is expected to become operable early in 2016. Construction, as with the previously ordered vessel, will be carried out at MHI's Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works.
Astomos Energy presently operates a total of 23 large-scale LPG carriers. All six vessels owned by the company were constructed by MHI; of the remaining 17 time-chartered vessels, eleven were built by MHI. Today Astomos Energy is pursuing a medium-term business plan to expand its LPG transport structure, targeting an increase in gross LPG handling volume from the current 10 million tons per year (mtpy) to 12mtpy in 2015. The order newly placed to MHI is an integral part of that initiative. The new carrier, when completed, will replace one of old vessels owned by Astomos Energy.
With the emergence of the "shale gas revolution" in the United States, demand for LPG produced in North America is projected to increase in markets worldwide, including East Asia. In tandem with this expansionary trend, coupled with the enlargement of the Panama Canal, newly constructed ships must offer increased carrying capacities and be able to transport over longer distances. They must also perform to tightening environmental restrictions imposed on such ship navigations. Both of MHI's LPG carriers ordered by Astomos Energy will satisfy these various requirements as they simultaneously meet the needs of the company's current plans to build the world's most advanced fleet of LPG carriers.
MHI possesses the comprehensive capabilities in ships and major marine machinery to respond to the heightening demands being made of today's LPG carriers. Going forward, the company will apply these capabilities to the development of ever more efficient LPG carriers as it also pursues more proactive proposal-based solutions marketing.
