TotalEnergies returns to China’s Hudong-Zhonghua for LNG bunkering vessel

The ship will be built by Spain’s Grupo Ibaizabal although it is understood that several shipowners including Avenir and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) were also in the running to secure the newbuild contract.

The deal sees the French energy major return to Hudong-Zhonghua after a deal struck earlier this year with Japan’s MOL contracting South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries to build a pair of 88,000 cbm LPG carriers.

The first LNG bunker vessel to be based in France, “Gas Vitality”, was the result of a second collaboration with shipowner MOL and Hudong-Zhonghua after the signing of a long-term charter contract in November 2019.

Hudong-Zhonghua said the new LNG bunkering vessel will be 135.9 meters long, 24.5 meters wide, and with a depth of 16 meters. The vessel is classified by Bureau Veritas.

It is thought that the cost is around $90m for the vessel which Hudong-Zhonghua said will be ready for delivery by the end of 2026.