Yangzijiang Shipbuilding Holdings (YZJ) will be able to start building large LNG vessels after entering into a technical assistance and license agreement with French naval engineering company GTT. LNG vessels are vessels used for carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG).
YZJ, a shipbuilding company based in China and a Straits Times Index component company listed on the SGX Mainboard, obtained the GTT license for the construction of vessels using GTT Mark III membrane technologies and is the first active private shipyard in China to obtain the license.
GTT has technological expertise in containment systems with cryogenic membranes and its membranes have been widely chosen as the cargo containment and insulation system for the large LNG carriers, onshore and offshore applications.
Executive chairman and CEO of YZJ Ren Letian says: “With the shipbuilding industry making the green transition, our plan to contribute [to] tackling climate change is unfolding in stages, as we pave the path to be an enabler in the transition to a net-zero future. The awarded license will enable us to make strategic inroads into the large LNG carrier market, which we previously have not been able to penetrate into. This is a landmark achievement and we are proud to be the first private shipyard in China to obtain the license.
YZJ received the GTT license after successfully completing a qualification process, including the construction of a membrane module and an audit by GTT and the ship classification societies. commencing in March 2022. It was completed in “record time”, despite delays due to the Covid-19 restrictions in China.
Philippe Berterottière, chairman and CEO of GTT, shares: “We are honoured to be working with
an internationally renowned partner. YZJ teams have demonstrated their determination by obtaining our license in record time. In a tight market, this new partnership will provide new shipbuilding capacities to meet current demand. We look forward to a long-term and successful collaboration with our new partner.”
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Following the rapidly expanding global LNG trade, GTT containment type vessels have reached the highest order-book-to-fleet ratio of 40% across all vessel types as of July 2022. YZJ believes its collaboration with GTT will allows the company to move up its technology value chain and expand its offer to shipowners, while contributing to the development of LNG vessel solutions.
“Our focus now is on building our track record in the LNG space and we are on track to meet the
growing demand for green vessels. We have made steady progress with our recent orders from
Pacific International Lines for four units of 8,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEU) LNG dual-fuel containerships, which will be fitted with the GTT Mark III technology,” Ren elaborates.
We have certainly developed a strong reputation for delivering good quality vessels in a timely manner and we have every intention of doing the same in the LNG space,” he adds.
Shares in YZJ closed flat at 90 cents on Sep 8.
