Two home-made smart LNG-powered support vessels are ready to start their working career. [Photo/WeChat account: qdrmt0513]

The first two intelligently and locally designed and built support vessels – powered by liquefied natural gas, or LNG, and equipped with smart operations systems – were recently delivered at the Qidong Marine Engineering and Shipbuilding Industrial Park in Qidong, a county-level city administered by Nantong in East China's Jiangsu province.

The announcement was made on May 28 by the China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited, or CSSC and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation, or CNOOC.

The LNG-driven type of vessel specializes in offering support services for China's offshore oil and gas industry. It can provide security, supplies, rescues and fire protection services, among other things. The delivery of the vessels marks a key step in the digitalized and intelligent transformation of China's offshore oil equipment sector.

The upgraded intelligent equipment on the vessels is a highlight. To arrange the installed equipment optimally in a limited area within the ships, Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group Co Ltd – an affiliate of CSSC and the contractor of the vessels – undertook careful research and repeatedly adjusted the design plans.

In addition, the team from Wuchang Shipbuilding organized the sea trials, spending only two days completing them while ensuring the safety and quality of the ships.

At present, there are more than 4,400 various kinds of ships serving the offshore oil sector in the world. In China, there are more than 300 such working vessels, with no precedent until now for using intelligent LNG-powered support vessels.

As the first batch using LNG as fuel in China, the two ships can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 20-30 percent, sulfur oxides by 100 percent, nitrogen oxides by 90 percent and suspended particulate matter by 100 percent – making them of significance in terms of boosting the low-carbon development of domestic offshore oil equipment.