Hudong-Zhonghua bags AiP for two new vessels

The certificates were granted to an LNG and a CO2 carrier.

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore (BV) has presented Approval in Principle (AiP) certificates to Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd.’s 201,000 cbm LNG carrier and a 42,000 cbm carbon dioxide (CO₂) carrier.

In a statement, BV said the 201,000 cbm LNG carrier is the world’s first to adopt a three-cargo hold configuration. This layout reduces the liquid cargo hold surface area by 9.8%, whilst maintaining the same overall cargo volume capacity.

The vessel also has a next-generation double-skeg hull form for a 6% reduction in unit cargo energy consumption compared with 174,000 cbm LNG carriers, and nearly zero sulfur oxide emissions.

“It is expected to become a benchmark ship type for the new Panama Canal, providing a greener and more environmentally friendly solution for future LNG transportation,” BV said.

Meanwhile, the 42,000 cbm low-pressure CO₂ carrier was designed to support the growing carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) market.

The vessel can also be retrofitted for ammonia fuel and be integrated with a high-efficiency shaft generator system for zero-carbon operations under normal sailing conditions.

“On a Japan-Malaysia route, a single vessel could transport and sequester more than 700,000 tons of CO₂ annually,” BV said.