Gerry Wang finds container work for novel gas carrier

MPPs, dry bulk carriers – even product tankers have been proposed to move containers during box shipping’s record earnings run. Now there’s news this week of a gas carrier moving containers, orchestrated by one of liner shipping’s most innovative pioneers, Gerry Wang, formerly of Seaspan.

According to Alphaliner, the containerised natural gas carrier Tiger Longkou, intended to be operated by Wang’s Tiger Gas, has gone on charter to Shandong International Transportation Corporation (SITC).

The novel ship – designed to move LNG in tank containers – was delivered by Yangzijiang Shipbuilding in China last month. The second of four 25,000 dwt gas carriers was delivered earlier this month with the other two due out of the yard also in 2022.

The shallow draft Tiger Longkou has a capacity to carry some 15,000 tons of gas in 690 forty-foot ISO tank boxes.

“Technically, the vessels are giant deckships with a length of 192.00 m and a breadth of 37.60 m (15 rows). This means that they do not have any holds and all containers are carried on deck, secured by cellguide structures,” Alphaliner explained its latest weekly report.

Tiger Gas’ original plan was to deploy all four ships on a regular service between Malaysia and China.
SITC has now put the new dual fuel ship on a box service linking China with Japan.

“Today’s ultra-strong liner market could very well prompt Tiger Gas to postpone their LNG supply chain project and put all four vessels on the container market,” Alphaliner predicted.

Splash reported earlier this month on Swedish tanker player Concordia Maritime’s product tanker conversion plan.

While dry bulk carriers have been seen carrying containers over the past six months, a tanker repurposed to carry boxes is something not seen since the advent of containerisation by Malcom Mclean 66 years ago.