Saga Dawn Completes Gas Trials

June 17, 2019

Saga LNG Shipping has successfully completed the Gas Trials for its new LNGC, Saga Dawn, this Sunday, June 16, 2019, at anchorage near Shanghai, China. 

The 45,000m³ LNGC Saga Dawn successfully cooled down one of her three cargo tanks and loaded approximately 2300m³ of LNG at Shanghai LNG’s Wuhaogou terminal on May 26^th. The vessel departed headed for anchorage the afternoon of May 27^th to complete the remainder of the Gas Trial Program. Over a three-week span, Saga Dawn completed a full cool down and warm up of all three cargo tanks, including testing of all engines, GCU, and cargo handling equipment. Immediately following warm up, each tank successfully completed global tightness testing to confirm the integrity of the secondary barrier system. All testing was witnessed by representatives from China Merchants Heavy Industry, ABS, LNT Marine, and Saga LNG Shipping.

“The successful completion of Saga Dawn’s Gas Trials marks the beginning of a new era for LNG containment technology and the LNG shipbuilding industry. In reaching this final milestone of the construction process, we are very proud to share with the market that our Saga Dawn, the world’s first LNG Carrier featuring the LNT A-BOX, is now ready for service.” David Wu, Founder and CEO of Saga LNG Shipping.

Saga Dawn will be delivered this July and enter into service shortly after. Saga Dawn is the world’s first LNG Carrier featuring an IMO type A LNG containment system, based on LNT Marine’s patented LNT A-BOX design. The ABS-classed vessel was built at China Merchants Heavy Industry’s Jiangsu yard and features Wärtsilä dual-fuel main and auxiliary engines.

Further Information:

Saga LNG Shipping is currently in the final stages of development for an 80,000m³ LNGC design with a nine-meter fully laden draft, aimed at regional imports into Chinese terminals. Saga has further developed and obtained Approvals in Principle (AiP) for its shallow draft 28,500m³ “Wuhan Max” and 12,000m³ “Yichang Max” designs aimed at opening up trade along China’s Yangtze River.

LNT Marine’s proprietary containment system for LNG and other liquefied gasses, dubbed the “LNT A-BOX^®”, features an IMO independent tank type A as the primary barrier, a conventional cargo tank support system and liquid-tight thermal insulation attached to the hull compartment which acts as a full secondary barrier. The self-supporting prismatic tanks allow for simple construction and flexible design while maintaining market-leading utilization of the hull space.

Based around the LNT A-BOX^® technology, Saga LNG Shipping aims to build, own and operate a series of tailor-made small and midsized LNG assets targeted at projects currently in various stages of development. Types of assets included in Saga LNG’s scope are FSUs, LNG Barges & LNGCs, FSRUs, FLNGs, and LNG Bunker Vessels, all within the 1,000 to 100,000 cubic meter range.