Mitsubishi Shipbuilding christens Cameron Project LNG carrier

Marvel Crane is fitted with apple shaped variant of Moss spherical tank

In a ceremony held earlier today at its Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works, Mitsubishi Shipbuilding christened the Marvel Crane, the first of two advanced 177,000 cu.m LNG carriers being built for Mitsui &Co. to serve the Cameron LNG Project.

Marvel Crane is being built to a design that significantly improves both LNG carrying capacity and fuel performance through the adoption of a more efficient hull structure and hybrid propulsion system. Completion is scheduled for March 2019.

The Marvel Crane is the first of two LNG carriers of the same design being constructed for Mitsui & Co., Ltd. It has a length of 293.0 m, width of 48.94 m, and depth of 27.5 m, with a draft of 11.4 m. Deadweight tonnage is approximately 79,000 tons, with a total tank holding capacity of 177,000 cu.m

The vessel is equipped with a modified version of the Moss spherical tank: an apple-shaped tank with a protruding upper half that increases the ship’s LNG carrying capacity without increasing its width, allowing it to pass through the new Panama Canal.

The propulsion system is a hybrid two-shaft STaGE (Steam Turbine and Gas Engines) system combining a steam turbine and a gas-fired engine. The ship is equipped with MHI’s proprietary high-efficiency reheat marine steam turbine engine, or UST (MHI Ultra Steam Turbine Plant), a dual-fuel engine power generator able to burn both natural gas and diesel, as well as an electric propulsion engine. Effective utilization of waste heat by the UST provides a substantial improvement in plant efficiency, allowing for high-efficiency navigation at both low and high-speeds.