On October 23, 2023, Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co., LTD. (hereinafter referred to as "CIMC SOE") built for TGE Marine 3400 square stainless steel LNG (ammonia-methanol reserved) fuel tank was successfully shipped at CIMC SOE eastern terminal, the liquid tank is the first liquid tank of 8 sets of 3400 square stainless steel tanks. It marks a major breakthrough in the field of medium and large stainless steel C-type tanks.
The series consists of 8 boat sets, each with 1 amphoric tank and 2 stainless steel enclosed compartments installed on the top of the tank, which will be installed on Hoegh Autolines' 9100 dual fuel pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) at China Merchants Heavy Industry after delivery. The ship is classified by DNV, which prepares ammonia fuel and methanol fuel while using LNG as fuel, and is the first car carrier ready to operate carbon neutral ammonia fuel, and will also become the world's largest and most environmentally friendly car carrier, and the new ship is expected to be delivered in the second half of 2024.
In the early stage of the project, CIMC SOE successfully obtained the rejection approval of the classification society through careful design and calculation of the project design team, and maintained close communication with classification society and customers to overcome layers of design difficulties, selected enhanced 304L stainless steel material to meet the performance of the liquid tank, strengthened the ring area and added additional structural design to meet the special form requirements of the chair.
The welding deformation in the production process is the most difficult problem encountered in the production of stainless steel structure. The on-site production team of CIMC SOE has solved the problem one by one by strictly implementing the welding deformation control process formulated in the early stage, combined with the rich on-site assembly and welding experience accumulated for many years, and the overall accuracy of the liquid tank meets the requirements of customers.
Under the great attention of the company leaders, for the construction and construction of stainless steel liquid tank, through the advance planning of the project team, full internal discussion, and external visit and study, the liquid tank construction principles, material protection, welding, welding deformation control, and super long tank lighting and lifting technology have been formulated to ensure the smooth construction of the project. In order to meet the requirements of construction conditions, the structural manufacturing department has made rigid permanent isolation measures for the production workshop, carried out ground transformation, and protected stainless steel materials from pollution in various production stages during the construction process, which has been highly recognized by customers, shipyards and shipowners.
This batch of liquid tanks is the first time CIMC SOE and TGE Marine cooperation construction, the project team adhere to the "customer first, win-win cooperation" cooperation concept, in terms of communication, technical clarification, drawing digestion, etc., the running-in was completed in a relatively short time. Due to the delayed raw materials, valve parts and high temperature weather, the project production pressure was huge. In the early stage of project delivery, the project team closely contacted the TGE Marine site team, organized daily site meetings, optimized the production process, and planned to make continuous shift breakthrough of nodes to ensure that all cross-work work was carried out in a safe manner, with both quality and schedule. Finally, the delivery of the liquid tank was successfully completed according to the needs of the shipyard, and was recognized by all parties.
The successful delivery of the liquid tank has enabled CIMC SOE to open up the stainless steel fuel tank market and further enhance the diversification and market competitiveness of CIMC SOE products. It is reported that at present, the second and third ship sets of liquid tank structure of the series project have been completed, and the delivery will be completed by the end of 2023, in addition, follow-up orders are also in close negotiations.
Every journey is trust. In the future, CIMC SOE will continue to uphold advanced design technology, professional construction and project management capabilities, and reliable delivery quality to undertake various types of fuel tanks and a full series of ABC tank orders, further enhance the competitiveness of marine tank products in the international and domestic markets, stabilize the market leading position of C-type tanks, and help the development of global green shipping.
