MHI completes development of new LNG carrier

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has completed development of the ‘Sayaringo STaGE,’ a next-generation LNG carrier. Developed as a successor to the ‘Sayaendo1,’ the company's LNG carrier evolved from carriers with Moss-type2 spherical tanks that are said to offer a high level of reliability. The adoption of apple-shaped tanks has enabled an approximate 16 percent increase in LNG carrying capacity without changing the ship's width. The incorporation of a hybrid propulsion system has boosted fuel efficiency by more than 20 percent compared to the Sayaendo.

STaGE, an acronym deriving from Steam Turbine and Gas Engines, is a hybrid propulsion system combining a steam turbine and engines that can be fired by gas. The components of the system are the Ultra Steam Turbine plant (UST), a reheating steam type marine turbine developed independently by MHI, a dual-fuel diesel engine capable of operating on both gas and oil, and an electric propulsion motor.

Improved efficiency

Plant efficiency has been significantly improved through the UST's effective use of the engine's waste heat, resulting in a propulsion system enabling high-efficiency navigation throughout a full range of speeds. The basic design of the Sayaringo STaGE has now been completed, with the vessel's overall length set at 297.5 m, width at 48.94 m, depth at 27.0 m and draft at 11.5 m. The vessel features four apple-shaped tanks are featured and the developed design provides 180,000 m3 in total LNG tank capacity.

Leveraging the Sayaringo STaGE's capacity for transporting North American shale gas safely and efficiently, MHI plans to undertake extensive business activities promoting the new vessel as a strategic product among its LNG carrier offerings.

The new apple-shaped tanks constitute an improved version of Moss-type tanks, and they have been adopted on the Sayaringo STaGE as part of MHI's initiative to develop a vessel in the New Panamax3 category, capable of passing through the newly expanding Panama Canal. The new structural configuration succeeds in efficiently increasing LNG carrying capacity.