In the past two years, "LNG carrier" has become a "hot word" of great concern to the industry, which is related to the soaring LNG freight rates and the arrival of shipyard orders .

From a global perspective, the superposition of a series of factors, such as the increasingly severe world environmental crisis, the acceleration of shipping carbon emission reduction, the adjustment of energy structure, the intensification of geopolitical conflicts, and the change of trade flow, is the main reason for boosting the great development of LNG carriers .

It is particularly noteworthy that with the continuous influence of geopolitical conflicts, Europe has turned to other parts of the world seeking for natural gas. Thus, the United States, Qatar and Australia have become the major countries transporting LNG to Europe. At the same time, the overweight investment in new LNG production capacity, mainly in the United States and the Middle East, has accelerated the reshaping of the trade pattern. In addition, the growth of China's demand for LNG has also boosted the change of trade flow. At present, China has replaced Japan as the largest LNG consumer in the world. For this change, the international shipping market is usually the first to respond, and the best example is the soaring freight rates in 2022 which remains at a high level. It is reported that in 2022, the spot charter rates of LNG carriers once exceeded

USD 450,000/day, which shows the popularity of the shipping market. Even if the freight rates are lowered in 2023, industry experts believe that the trend of maintaining high prosperity will not change in the future. Therefore, shipping companies and various capitals are constantly increasing investment in LNG transportation business .

The international LNG transportation market is kept hot continuously, which brings a chain reaction to the LNG carriers construction market. Since the beginning of 2022, the demand for LNG carriers in the international market has soared, and the emerging shipbuilding market has welcomed the climax of LNG carriers ordering. The competition pattern of China, Japan and South Korea in the field of LNG carriers construction has also quietly changed. Judging from the current situation, Japanese shipyards are obviously lagging behind in the order taking competition for LNG carriers. In sharp contrast, China's shipbuilding industry has sprung up and performed strongly . According to the "transcript" of China's shipbuilding industry in 2022, China's total orders accounted for more than 30% of the world's large LNG carriers, reaching a record high. At present, a number of large LNG carrier construction enterprise cluster has formed, mainly including Hudong-Zhonghua, Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co., Ltd., Jiangnan Shipbuilding, China Merchants Industry Haimen Base and Jiangsu Yangzijiang Shipping Group. In this regard, the "Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea" reported that the global order book for LNG carriers surged by 131% in just one year, among which Chinese shipbuilding enterprises gained 30% of the orders share, and the number achieved exponential growth. This news reveals the great potential and rising momentum of China's shipbuilding industry. In addition, according to the statistics of the first half of this year, the global market share of domestic shipping enterprises in the field of large LNG carriers jumped to 35%, and the upward trend is still strong. However, from the overall situation, South Korea still has strong capacity in shipbuilding . Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean are the top three shipbuilders of LNG carriers, forming the strongest lineup to compete for orders for LNG carriers in the world. They are the strongest foundation for South Korea to build the largest country in LNG carrier construction in the world. There is no doubt that the competition for LNG carrier orders between China and South Korea will become increasingly fierce in the future .

As a technical support institution to promote the sustainable development of shipping, shipbuilding, energy and related industries, China Classification Society (CCS) has continuously increased the research and development of LNG carrier rules and service capacity building in recent years. At present, it has fully formed the liquefied gas carrier rules system and service capacity, including supporting software and service products. Up to now, CCS-classed ship types cover the large membrane-type LNG carriers, large A-type independent-tank LPG carriers, B-type independent-tank LNG carriers, large ethane carriers, C-type independent-tank LNG carriers, etc .

According to Clarkson's forecast, the shipping volume of LNG carriers will increase by 65% in the next decade. It is predicted that by 2030, the shipping volume will increase from 380 million tons in 2021 to 630 million tons. Although the prospect is bright, China's shipbuilding industry will still face many challenges in the future, such as technological innovation and environmental protection requirements, which require the industry to work together continuously to tackle key problems and bravely climb new technological peaks .

In this regard, CCS will continuously focus on the transformation and upgrading of goal-based structural rules of liquefied gas carriers and the application of safety standards for liquid cargo containment systems, so as to form a standard leading capability for the design, R&D and manufacture of LNG transport equipment and provide technical support and safety guarantee for the high-quality development of LNG carriers sector .