SWS delivers LNG-powered Ubuntu Community
SWS delivers LNG-powered Ubuntu Community - Offshore Energy
SWS delivers LNG-powered Ubuntu Community
The LNG-powered dual-fuel bulk carrier Ubunty Community, built by Chinese shipyard Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding, has been delivered.
The vessel’s registered owner is Marshall Island-based Barney Shiptrade and the 190,000 dwt bulker is intended for Greek-based Maran Dry Management.
Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding said this was the sixth 190,000-ton dual-fuel bulk carrier delivered by the company. Ubunuty Community is a new generation of eco-friendly and energy-efficient bulk carriers, designed and developed by the shipbuilder.
With a total length of 299.80 meters, a molded width of 47.5 meters, and a molded depth of 24.7 meters, this ship is equipped with two C-type LNG fuel tanks and has a gas cruising range of 20,000 nautical miles. The ship’s use of LNG fuel eliminates particulate matter and sulfide emissions, meeting the fourth stage of IMO requirements.
The delivery comes in over a month since the handover of its sister vessel, Ubuntu Unity.
The two Capesize bulkers have been chartered by UK-based mining company Anglo American as part of a fleet of ten LNG dual-fueled newbuilds that the mining company plans to introduce to its chartered fleet in 2023 and 2024. The fleet is expected to deliver an estimated 35% reduction in CO2 emissions compared to ships fueled by conventional marine oil fuel.
Anglo American has already put into operation Ubuntu Harmony, a recently launched LNG dual-fueled Capesize+ bulk carrier, chartered from Taiwanese bulk carrier company U-Ming Marine.
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.