On April 29, China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited(CSSC) and Qatar Energy held a signing ceremony in Beijing for a project to build 18 of the world's largest LNG carriers with a capacity of 271,000 m3. The project set a record for the world's largest one-off shipbuilding order.

photo from QatarEnergy

The vessels will be designed and built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of CSSC, with an overall length of 344 meters, a beam of 53.6 meters and a depth of 27.2 meters.

Reportedly, QatarEnergy signed long-term time charter party (TCP) agreements with China Merchants Energy Shipping Co., Ltd for 4 QC MAX LNG vessel, Shandong Marine Group for 3 QC MAX LNG vessels, China LNG Shipping (Holdings) Limited for 2 QC MAX LNG vessels; all of which are being constructed at China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited. The remaing 9 QC MAX LNG vessels will be operated by Qatar Gas Transport Company Limited.