SHI receives order for three LNG carriers

South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has received an order to build three LNG carriers.

The order was valued at 654.5bn South Korean won — equivalent to around $193mn per carrier — and placed by an unnamed shipowner based in the Oceania region on 2 July. Delivery of the carriers is expected by November 2024, SHI said.

SHI also received an order for two LNG carriers from a shipowner in Oceania in May, with delivery expected by mid-July 2024.

Almost all vessels in the global LNG carrier orderbook have been ordered with two-stroke engines that can be powered by gas from cargo boil-off or traditional marine fuels. But SHI announced last week that it will offer fuel cell-powered LNG carriers, after the company achieved approval in principle from shipping classification firm DNV. The carriers would be powered by solid oxide fuel cells using natural gas, probably sourced from cargo boil-off, achieving lower carbon emissions compared with other types of marine engines.

By Konstantinos Pitsilis