Hudong Zhonghua Names 1st Export LNG Carrier

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Chinese shipbuilder Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, has named its first LNG carrier built for export. The 172,000 cbm LNG carrier was named Papua during a ceremony held in Shanghai on January 8th. Construction of the LNG carrier was jointly financed by MOL, China Shipping Group and Sinopec. Papua will be hired by ExxonMobil to transport LNG from its PNG LNG facility. The Chinese shipbuilder has 13 LNG carriers on order, 10% of the global market share. These include three LNG carriers already being built for MOL slated for delivery in 2015 and 2016. Hudong-Zhonghua announced plans to double its annual shipbuilding capacity, the goal being construction of seven to eight 174,000 cum tankers annually by 2018, up from current two to three. World Maritime News Staff