Evergas takes delivery of first multigas ship

OREANDA-NEWS. May 29, 2015. Evergas' first 27,500m3 Dragon-class ethane carrier is being delivered from the China Sinopacific Offshore and Engineering shipyard today.

The Dragon series carriers will be charted by Ineos Europe to move the first-ever US ethane exports from Sunoco Logistics' NGL export terminal in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, to Ineos ethylene crackers in Grangemouth, Scotland, and Rafnes, Norway.

"The delivery of the first in this series of the Dragon class vessels marks the beginning of a new era in the transportation of liquefied gases," Evergas chief executive Steffen Jacobsen said.

While the carriers were purpose built for ethane transport, they have the capability to move petrochemicals, LNG and LPG.

At a length of 180 meters and width of 26.6 meters, the Dragon series vessels will be the largest ethane carriers in the world. But this status will soon be supplanted by a fleet of 87,000-88,000m? very large ethane carriers (VLECs) that will be delivered in early 2017.

The Dragon class series will be propelled by dual-fuel engines developed by Wartsila, which are more efficiency, with lower emissions and lower overall costs.

Ineos and Evergas inked a 15-year shipping agreement in January 2013, and in late 2014 the pair expanded its new-building series from six ethane/multigas vessels to eight.