Contributing to Qingyuan's new clean energy era in inland waterway transport
(12 Aug 2022 – Hong Kong) - CIMC Enric Holdings Limited (“CIMC Enric” or “the Company”) together with its subsidiaries (the "Group") (Stock Code: 3899.HK) today is pleased to announce that the CIMC Blue Water Technology Development (Guangdong) Co. ("CIMC Blue Water"), a subsidiary of CIMC Enric, completed its oil-to-gas conversion of the first liquefied natural gas ("LNG") powered vessel "Yue Kai Voyage 038" in Qingyuan. The Company redesigned the vessel from propulsion diesel and generator diesel engine to a generator that uses clean energy LNG. The newly designed power system equipment, including LNG fuel tank, gas supply equipment, control equipment, security equipment and monitoring equipment, generates near-zero gas emissions. According to the work plan, by the end of October, CIMC Blue Water will deliver another 18 LNG vessels, of which 4 will be old vessels for conversion and 14 will be new vessels.
The Company carried out the renovation of Yue Kai Voyage 038 with a gross tonnage of 998 tonnes, overall length of 65.7m, a beam of 13.6m, a depth of 3.65m and a displacement of over 2,500 tonnes. The Yue Kai Voyage 038 is a general steel dry cargo vessel capable of meeting the navigational requirements of Class A and B navigation in the Pearl River waters.
Currently, the Qingyuan Municipal Government is actively promoting the Guangdong Provincial Government’s policy regarding high-quality inland waterway shipping demonstration project. The Government will also provide a one-off subsidy of RMB 3.4 million per ship after the conversion to ship owners that meet the relevant requirements. The vessels that have completed the renovation will be given priority in passing through the gates. The Guangdong Development and Reform Commission (Energy Bureau) also points out that it will secure the refuelling LNG price of no more than 70% of the price of No. 0 diesel announced by the Government for the same period, which is equivalent to a 30% saving in fuel costs when using LNG compared to diesel, resulting in a cheaper, less carbon intensive and more environmentally friendly waterway transport.
According to public data, Qingyuan has existed 204 vessels that are willing to be converted and meet the relevant subsidy conditions, as well as 22 vessels under construction that are willing to be converted to LNG power. CNOOC's temporary LNG refuelling station at the Gaolongda Terminal in Qingyuan City is now in operation. It can refuel approximately 5 tonnes of LNG fuel, which enables the vessels to sail 400 nautical miles continuously.
The Guangdong Development and Reform Commission (Energy Bureau) confirmed construction of the first batch of six refuelling stations in Xi River and Bei River will commence in the near future. In addition, CNOOC also plans to set up three temporary refuelling stations in Qingcheng District, Qingyuan City.
Mr. Ju Xiaofeng, Deputy General Manager and Head of Energy Equipment and Engineering Business Centre of CIMC Enric said, “LNG is an important power fuel to reduce shipping pollution due to its safe, clean and cost-effective advantages. In order to enhance capacity and promote the green development of inland waterway shipping, we are delighted to see that Guangdong has been vigorously promoting the LNG-powered transformation of its vessels in recent years. As a pioneer in green shipping, CIMC Enric is committed to promoting the transformation of China's inland waterway vessels into clean energy power sources. Furthermore, the innovative LNG fuel tank replacement demonstration solution for vessels, addresses the challenges of difficult and slow refueling process of LNG fuel tank. In the future, we will continue to work with various partners in the industry in order to contribute to China's green shipping business.”
