The ship repair unit of China’s Qingdao Beihai Shipbuilding has signed a technical services deal with French LNG containment giant GTT to repair liquefied natural gas carriers.
GTT’s head in China, Adnan Ezzarhouni, and Sun Shumeng, director of the shipbuilder’s repair branch, signed the deal on November 1, according to a joint statement.
This deal enables the CSSC-controlled yard to carry out the dry-docking of membrane-type LNG carriers as well as LNG-powered vessels equipped with GTT’s tech, in particular very large capacity vessels.
Qingdao Beihai said it has renovated its LNG repair workshop, and passed a series of strict qualification audits by GTT.
Under the deal, the two firms will cooperate on “various LNG ship projects to provide shipowners with more ship repair solutions of more specifications and types to better meet the growing needs of green ship repair in the future,” it said.
GTT received orders for 52 LNG carriers and one floating LNG producer in the first nine months of this year.
This includes contracts from Chinese shipbuilders Hudong-Zhonghua, Jiangnan, DSIC, and China Merchants Heavy Industry-Jiangsu.
This year, GTT also secured a large tank design order from Chinese shipyard Yangzijiang for ten LNG-powered containerships, while it won the first tank order for LNG carriers from the same shipbuilder last year.
