At the 29th World Gas Conference held in Beijing, Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. debuted two pioneering ship designs: a 201,000 cbm LNG carrier featuring a three-cargo hold layout, and a 42,000 cbm carbon dioxide (CO₂) carrier. During the event, Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore (BV) presented Approval in Principle (AiP) certificates for these two innovative vessels, the classification society said.
The 201,000 cbm LNG carrier is the world’s first of its class to adopt a three-cargo hold configuration, breaking the long-standing design bottlenecks. This novel approach delivers key benefits, including reduced costs, enhanced energy efficiency, lower carbon emissions, and high compatibility.
Compared with four-cargo hold designs, the new three-cargo hold layout reduces the liquid cargo hold surface area by 9.8%, while maintaining the same overall cargo volume capacity. This design optimization, along with fewer pumps and valves, simplifies the cargo system and reduces construction costs by nearly USD 10 million, as well as life-cycle operational and maintenance costs.
The vessel incorporates a next-generation double-skeg hull form, achieving a 6% reduction in unit cargo energy consumption compared with 174,000 cbm LNG carriers, and nearly zero sulfur oxide emissions. Based on an annual transport volume of 3 million tons, carbon dioxide emissions are cut by over 8%.
With a hull length comparable to the 174,000 cbm carrier, the vessel offers greater operational flexibility—fully compatible with the new Panama Canal and over 100 shore stations worldwide. 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 also awarded an AiP for Hudong-Zhonghua’s 42,000 cbm low-pressure CO₂ carrier, a vessel designed to support the growing carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) market. Powered by an LNG dual-fuel main engine and equipped with an onboard carbon capture system, the vessel enables a "capture-and-transport" model for CO₂ emissions.
The design is future-ready, with the capability for ammonia-fuel retrofitting and integration with a high-efficiency shaft generator system, supporting the ambition to achieve 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 — offering a high-impact solution to support net-zero shipping strategies.