Wärtsilä's gas handling systems chosen for largest ethane carriers
Six new 87,000 m3 capacity very large ethane carriers (VLECs), being built at the Samsung Heavy Industries yard in South Korea, will feature Wärtsilä gas handling systems.
The contract was signed in September, and there is an option for additional vessels within this series. Deliveries of the Wärtsilä solutions will commence in 2016.
These vessels will be the biggest ethane carriers ever built, and represent a new generation of such vessels mainly transporting ethane as feed stock to the petrochemical industry.
The transportation of ethane is a rapidly growing segment of the marine gas carrying business and it is anticipated that the global VLEC fleet will increase significantly during the coming years.
The VLECs are being built for the Reliance Group, India's largest private sector enterprise. The group has businesses in the energy and materials value chain, including petrochemicals.
The new vessels will carry ethane from American shale gas to India to be processed for making plastic. Delivery of the ships will commence at the end of 2016 and is scheduled to be completed in early 2017.
Wärtsilä's scope of supply represents a complete cargo handling package for each ship. This includes the process and arrangement engineering; the deck tank; all equipment related to the cargo handling; and a purpose-built reliquefaction plant to handle the C-ethane from the American shale gas.
- U.S. ethane exports to China hit new roadblock with license requirement
- Glencore to offtake 2 MMtpy of LNG from Commonwealth LNG's export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana
- Australia clears Woodside to run North West Shelf LNG plant to 2070
- Egypt agrees to buy up to 160 LNG cargoes through 2026
- Shell to add up to 12 MMt of additional LNG capacity by 2030
Comments