Wärtsilä to Supply LNG Reliquefaction Plants for Chinese Newbuilds

Wärtsilä to Supply LNG Reliquefaction Plants for Chinese Newbuilds

By Rob Almeida On January 21, 2015

The Wärtsilä reliquefaction plant will reliquefy 70% of the boil-off gas from the ships’ LNG cargo and return it to the cargo tanks, while the balance is fed by the gas handling system to the engines for propulsion purposes. via Wärtsilä

Finnish engine manufacturer Wärtsilä has won a major order for their LNG reliquefaction plants and gas handling systems which will be installed aboard four ships currently under construction at Hudong-Zhongua Shipbuilding yard in China.

The four 174,000 cbm LNG carriers are being built for Teekay Corporation, China LNG Shipping (CLNG), CNOOC Energy Technology Co of China, and BW Gas of Norway.
Wärtsilä says their systems will re-liquefy 70 percent of the boil-off gas from the ships’ LNG cargo and return it to the cargo tanks, while the balance is fed by the gas handling system to the engines for propulsion purposes.  The contracts were awarded in Q4 2014.

For both the LNG reliquefaction plant and gas handling system, Wärtsilä says they will provide engineering support, system responsibility and associated process guarantees.  Once installed, this system does not require extra seagoing personnel to operate or maintain it.

The first of the LNG carriers is scheduled for delivery in September 2017, with two to follow in 2018 and the last ship in January 2019.