DSIC delivers 85,000 m3 VLEC

The 50,000 DWT, 231.6-metre long vessel is the largest ethane carrier in operation, with a beam of 36.6 metres. The vessel features four cargo tankers, three of which are Type C Star-Trilobe tanks, while the fourth is a Type C cylindrical tank.

The tanker offers a service speed of about 16 knots from an electronically-controlled MAN B&W 6G60ME-C9.5 GIE main engine, which features an integrated EGR system. The dual-fuel ME-GIE engine is expected to operate on ethane. The diesel generator is fitted with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) to meet IMO NOx Tier III requirements.

The vessel also features include a deck tank as well as a shaft generator and a MAN Alpha controllable-pitch propeller. The vessel is the first very large gas carrier to feature the semi-refrigerated solution while it also has the capability to carry two different gas cargoes simultaneously.

The VLEC will transport ethane from the US to serve as feedstock for SP Chemicals’ cracker facility located next to the Yangtze River at Taixing in Jiangsu province, eastern China.