Japan’s Mitsubishi Shipbuilding, a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries unit, christened the Noshu Maru, a Sayaringo STaGE LNG carrier built for the JERA and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines joint venture Trans Pacific Shipping. 

Noshu Maru is the fourth vessel of the Sayaringo STaGE type, with the construction and completion and delivery is scheduled for February 2019.

MHI said in its statement that after delivery the vessels will be put into service, transporting LNG for the Freeport LNG project in Texas, in which JERA has a stake.

The Noshu Maru has a length of 297.5m, a width of 48.94m, and depth of 27.0m, with a draft of 11.1m, and is capable of transporting 180,000-cbm.

The Sayaringo STaGE is a successor to the Sayaendo, a MOSS-type vessel featuring spherical tanks. The use of apple-shaped tanks in the Sayaringo STaGE vessels allows for higher LNG carrying capacity without increases to the ship’s width, MHI added.

The vessel features a hybrid propulsion system combining a steam turbine and gas-fired engines.