MHI to build “apple tank” LNG duo for Cameron shale exports

Evolved from Moss type spherical tanks, apple type tanks upper half bulges more than the lower, enabling a near 16% increase in LNG carrying capacity

JANUARY 29, 2015 — Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has received an order for two next-generation 177,000 cu.m. LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers from Mitsui & Co., Ltd. The order was booked through MI LNG Company, Limited, a joint venture between MHI and Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. The vessels will be constructed at MHI’s Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works.

Intended for the delivery of LNG  to customers in Japan from the Cameron LNG Export Project in Louisiana, the ships are scheduled for completion and delivery in 2018 and 2019. They are the first ordered from MHI for the shale oil market and feature a design offering significant improvements in both LNG carrying capacity and fuel efficiency.

The 297.5 m LOA, x  48.94 m beam ships will have a depth of 27.0m and draft of 11.5 m.

They will have four apple-shaped Moss type tanks, with a bulging upper half and a “STaGE” (Steam Turbine and Gas Engines) hybrid propulsion system.

STaGE consists of

• an Ultra Steam Turbine plant (UST), a highly efficient reheating steam turbine developed independently by MHI,
• a dual-fuel diesel engine capable of operating on both gas and oil, and
• an electric propulsion motor.

Plant efficiency is substantially improved through the UST’s effective use of the engine’s waste heat, resulting in a propulsion system enabling high-efficiency navigation throughout a full range of speeds.