Silverstream Technologies, the leading air lubrication manufacturer for the shipping industry, has announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with leading shipbuilding group, Hudong-Zhonghua, part of the CSSC Group. The MoU will see Silverstream’s air lubrication technology – the Silverstream® System – integrated into Hudong-Zhonghua’s new building designs for its future LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers in order to increase operational and fuel efficiencies, reducing fuel costs and emissions by between 6% and 8% for laden and ballast conditions.
Hudong-Zhonghua is a subsidiary of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC), China’s largest shipbuilding group, and the second largest in the world. To-date, it is also China’s leading manufacturer of LNG carriers, with a capacity for six to eight vessels in its yard.
The MoU is a significant landmark for Silverstream, as it is the company’s first LNG class newbuild project. It also represents both the Asian market’s growing interest in air lubrication systems, and its wider demand for greater efficiencies and sustainability in newbuild orders.
The signing of the MoU marks 12 months of in-depth collaboration between the two organisations, which culminated in the approval of Silverstream’s technology onto Hudong-Zhonghua’s LNG carrier newbuild designs. Both Silverstream and Hudong-Zhonghua will continue to collaborate to drive the sales process with prospective ship owners, working together to ensure the optimum efficiency and design on future orders from the yard.
Additionally, the UK Government’s Department for International Trade has played an important role in developing the strong relationship between the UK and Asia, both in terms of maritime innovation, and bringing the two companies together.