The vessel, designed by the Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) unit of HHI, has recently completed sea trials for the Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) company.

The milestone makes HHI the first shipyard in the world to build a very large container ship (VLCS) powered by LNG, as the company boasted in its statement on Monday.

The vessel, measuring 366 meters in length, 51 meters in width and 29,9 meters in depth, is the first VLCS operating on LNG in the world.

The ship is fitted with a large LNG fuel tank of 12,000 cbm. This allows the vessel to have enough fuel capacity for a single loading round trip in Asia-Europe.

The tank is made of 9 per cent nickel steel with superior strength and impact resistance even at cryogenic temperatures, HHI said.

The ship is the first in a series of six LNG-fueled ships of the same size and design that HSHI has constructed in the last few years after signing an agreement with EPS in April 2018, with the last delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2022.

Maritime Business World