Chinese ship owner Tianjin Southwest Maritime has placed an order for the construction of two 98,000 cbm ethane carriers at CSSC Jiangnan Shipyard. The new ships are scheduled to be delivered between June and September in 2022. The order is estimated to be worth around $220 million.

The very large ethane carriers (VLEC) is designed by Jiangnan Shipyard, with length 230m, breadth 36.6m, depth 22.5m, powered by Gas/Diesel Oil dual fuel. The new ships after delivery are chartered by Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical (STL) to support anticipated growth in the production output in the second stage of development of STL’s new ethane cracking facility in Lianyungang.

In earlier times, STL placed two orders for two VLECs each at the end of August at South Korean shipbuilding majors Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries. Each shipbuilder has been entrusted with building two ships, which are set for delivery in 2022.

The latest order brings STL’s ordering tally to 12 units. The first 6 ships from the series were ordered in 2019 as part of the first phase of the project, and are slated for delivery in 2020. According to STL, these ships are going to be the largest ethane transportation ships in the world.