China's LNG ship "sailing" out of acceleration
55 ships!
In 2022, the "transcript" of China's shipbuilding industry will be released. China has made breakthroughs in the field of global large-scale liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier ordering and delivery. The total global orders accounted for more than 30%, a record high.
Behind this is the hard work of the shipbuilding industry, and it is also a vivid portrayal of the continuous development of China's economy and technological level.
LNG carriers are known as one of the "three crown jewels of the shipbuilding industry". What is the significance of seizing the LNG carrier market for China's economic development?
Become an important player in global energy transportation
——The demand for LNG ships in the international market has soared, and Chinese shipping companies have seized the opportunity
In 2022, China's shipbuilding industry will account for 47.3%, 55.2% and 49.0% of the global total in terms of deadweight tons, respectively. This achievement demonstrates the strength of Chinese manufacturing.
In the field of high-end shipbuilding, China's shipbuilding industry has also embarked on a "new track".
With a total length of 333 meters and a molded width of 60 meters, it uses LNG as the main fuel and is equipped with LNG dual-fuel main engines, generators and boilers. "It is the world's first LNG dual-fuel VLCC "Yuanruiyang", which was completed and delivered last year.
"In the context of global energy transformation, DSIC promotes the application of LNG as the main fuel on very large crude oil carriers, which will play a positive role in the energy saving and emission reduction of large ships and the shipping industry's contribution to 'carbon peak' and 'carbon neutrality' Leading role." The builder of the "Yuanruiyang" ship, the relevant person in charge of Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, told reporters.
In 2022, Chinese shipping companies will undertake orders for 55 large LNG carriers throughout the year.
"The achievement of this achievement has broken the large-scale monopoly of a few national builders on the LNG carrier construction market, and opened a new stage of fully competitive development in the global gas carrier field." Li Yanqing, secretary-general of the China Shipbuilding Industry Association, told reporters.
Before 2008, China did not have a self-built and designed LNG carrier.
For a long time, Korean shipping companies have occupied an absolute dominant position in the international LNG carrier market.
In 2008, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, built and delivered China's first domestically produced large-scale LNG carrier "Dapeng Hao", becoming a "breaker".
At present, Hudong Zhonghua has accumulated orders for nearly 50 ships.
"my country's LNG ships have made great strides in catching up and iterative innovation, and have continuously shortened the gap with international counterparts. In the explosive growth of global LNG ship orders, they are steadily striving to seize opportunities," said Song Wei, chief engineer of Hudong Zhonghua.
Li Yanqing introduced that since the beginning of 2022, the demand for LNG carriers in the international market has soared, and the emerging shipbuilding market has ushered in an upsurge in ordering LNG carriers, which provides market access opportunities for Chinese shipping companies that are ready to receive orders.
In March 2022, Jiangnan Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. and Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, respectively won the first large-scale LNG carrier order, formally entered the LNG carrier construction market, and undertook subsequent batch orders; 2022 In October 2019, Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Group Co., Ltd. won the first large-scale LNG carrier order; in December, China Merchants Industry Group Co., Ltd. formally signed a construction contract with European shipowners for 4+2+2 large LNG carriers of 180,000 cubic meters ...
"Data shows that in 2022, China will form a number of large-scale LNG shipbuilding enterprise clusters dominated by Hudong Zhonghua, DSIC, Jiangnan Shipbuilding, China Merchants Haimen and Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipbuilding." Li Yanqing said, "With a share With the order in hand and the successful construction of high-end LNG ships, my country's shipbuilding enterprises have become important participants in global energy transportation."
It is as difficult to build as an aircraft carrier
——Direct contact with liquefied natural gas at minus 163 degrees Celsius, safety is the primary factor in construction design considerations
LNG carriers are internationally recognized high-tech, high-difficulty, and high-value-added "three-high" products. Together with aircraft carriers and large cruise ships, they are also known as "the three jewels in the crown of the shipbuilding industry."
How difficult is it to build?
According to reports, LNG is the abbreviation of liquefied natural gas, and its main component is methane. It is recognized as the cleanest fossil energy on earth.
As a "sea super refrigerated vehicle", the LNG carrier represents the highest level of the shipbuilding industry.
According to the person in charge of Hudong Zhonghua, the construction of this type of ship is a "technology-intensive + capital-intensive" project, which highly tests the comprehensive strength of the builder.
Safety is the first consideration in construction design.
According to Li Yanqing, the difficulty of building an LNG ship is comparable to that of an aircraft carrier.
"Especially the LNG tank containment system, which directly contacts the liquid natural gas at minus 163 degrees Celsius, is the main technical difficulty in building a large LNG ship." Li Yanqing introduced that the LNG ship after loading is called a "sleeping hydrogen bomb" in the industry. The energy contained in 170,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas is equivalent to 323,000 tons of TNT high explosives.
Tens of thousands of tons of liquefied natural gas at minus 163 degrees Celsius cross the ocean and safely complete the long-distance transportation of thousands of kilometers, which puts extremely high requirements on the safety of LNG ships.
"Once the liquid cargo tank leaks, it will make the steel plate of the hull brittle. If the liquefied natural gas leaks from the crack and vaporizes quickly, it will explode in an instant. Therefore, the design and manufacture of LNG ships must not be wrong. Even if the ship has sailed offshore, in order to protect the wharf and It is not easy to go to the shore for the safety of the surrounding residents." Li Yanqing said.
What is the significance for China to seize the LNG carrier market?
At present, natural gas is an extremely low-density gas energy source, and there are only two methods for long-distance transportation: pipeline gas transportation and LNG ship sea transportation.
"For China, this is not just a matter of ship type orders. The level of the LNG industry is related to energy security issues such as natural gas, and is inseparable from the national strategic energy security." Li Yanqing said, "In addition, the LNG industry is in the 'double carbon 'Under the background of continuous development, it can adapt to China's energy market situation, help adjust the regional energy structure, ease the contradiction between energy supply and demand, and promote the transformation of fuel supply structure."
The hot trend of LNG ships has continued into this year.
At the beginning of the new year, all shipyards have been busy in full swing.
The relevant person in charge of Hudong-Zhonghua told reporters that the company started construction of one large LNG carrier, docked one, and made a trial voyage at the beginning of the year, laying a solid foundation for realizing the goal of starting nine ships and delivering four large LNG carriers throughout the year. a solid foundation.
At the same time, Hudong Zhonghua has comprehensively improved the capacity building of the LNG industry, and relevant important infrastructure projects have been advanced rapidly and orderly.
"On January 8, the Hudong-Zhonghua LNG Carrier Industrial Capacity Improvement Project - the new invar production workshop broke ground. It is planned to complete commissioning and acceptance in July this year. After commissioning, Hudong-Zhonghua will form LNG ship insulation boxes, invar The advantages of centralized production of special supporting industries such as prefabricated parts, cryogenic pipes and modules will further consolidate the foundation for doubling the production capacity of LNG carriers." The person in charge said.
"Production tasks have been scheduled until 2028"
——Doing our best to guarantee the delivery of ships and promoting new orders with faster delivery is the key to continuously winning the market
Orders for LNG ships are booming, making China's LNG shipbuilding industry usher in a critical period of accelerated development.
At present, what challenges are China's LNG shipbuilding still facing?
The relevant person in charge of Hudong Zhonghua said that its production task has been scheduled until 2028.
However, in terms of supporting equipment for ships, due to the small share of China in the past, many equipment and materials on board need to be imported, and there is still a certain gap compared with the world's advanced level in terms of timeliness, accuracy and cost of supporting equipment; in terms of shipbuilding mode, The efficiency of China's LNG shipbuilding assembly methods still needs to be improved.
"The construction period of Hudong Zhonghua has been shortened from 48 months to 20 months, but there is still a gap compared with South Korea's 18 months." The person in charge said.
On the whole, China's shipbuilding industry is still under considerable pressure.
According to Li Yanqing's analysis, first of all, the contradiction between the saturation of production tasks and the shortage of labor force is prominent.
In 2022, the number of orders held by Chinese ships will once again exceed 100 million deadweight tons after 6 years, and the average production guarantee factor of ship companies (orders held/average of completions in the past three years) is about 2.7.
"At present, shipping companies are full of production tasks, especially with the rapid growth of orders for high-tech ships, the demand for skilled labor has further increased." Li Yanqing said, "In recent years, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the loss of foreign labor workers in shipping companies has been relatively high. Many, exacerbated the problem of labor tension.”
Secondly, the ship supporting supply chain is still unstable.
In the past two years, with the substantial increase in orders for new ships, the demand for ship supporting equipment has increased significantly. However, it is difficult for ship parts companies to quickly increase their production capacity in a short period of time. Rising product prices and delays in supply are common.
According to data from the China Shipbuilding Industry Association, due to the impact of the new crown epidemic, the production cycle of supporting equipment, logistics costs and transportation cycles have generally increased.
The supply of some imported supporting equipment is getting tighter. The average delivery cycle of ship communication, navigation, automatic control systems, electronic and electrical equipment, etc. is 1-3 months longer than normal. The cycle is extended by more than 3-6 months on average than in the normal state.
Against this background, what should be done in 2023?
"Correct capacity expansion decisions, flexible market strategies and solid technology accumulation are the basis for Chinese shipping companies to quickly enter and open up the development of the LNG maritime transportation market." Li Yanqing believes that no matter how the market changes in 2023, faster delivery will promote new developments Order acceptance is the key to continuously win the market.
In the current and future period, China's shipbuilding industry should unswervingly implement the new development concept, face the national superior resources and global industrial division of labor, and establish the advantages of LNG carriers and other gas carriers in technology, industry, management and market.
Kong Dechen