ABS has been selected to class the world's first compressed natural gas (CNG) carrier ordered by Pelayaran Bahtera Adhiguna, a subsidiary of Indonesia's state-owned power company Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PT PLN).

The CNG carrier has been designed by China's CIMC Ocean Engineering Design & Research Institute, and will be built at Qingdao Wuchuan Heavy Industry’s shipyard in northern China. It is the latest example of ABS' leadership in the gas ship sector, where the largest share of LNG ships is presently being built to its classification standards.

ABS Chairman and CEO, Christopher J. Wiernicki, said: “This prestigious contract is a testament to our commitment to high quality service, technical innovation and remaining a pioneer in the safe transport and handling of gas […] As society's demands continue to drive the search for cleaner forms of energy, new methods of marine transport, propulsion and processing for gas are being required. ABS remains committed to being on the leading edge of that technical evolution, supporting industry and regulators as they navigate through the challenges.”

PT PLN's inaugural CNG ship, which will be dual-classed with the Indonesian class society Biro Klasifikasi Indonesia, will be 110 m in length and offer sailing speeds of 14 knots. It is designed to offer a nominal CNG capacity of 2200 m3 and will fly the Indonesian flag.

The CNG carrier is expected to transport natural gas from Indonesian fields in East Java to communities on the island of Lombok, benefiting relatively remote communities that are not economically feasible to supply by pipeline.

Global Gas Solutions Team

The contract follows ABS’ unveiling of its new Global Gas Solutions team, a multi-disciplinary group of technical specialists formed to respond to the rapidly escalating number of gas-related projects, including LNG and LPG transportation, the use of LNG and LPG as fuel and a growing number of floating LNG (FLNG) projects.

ABS classed the world’s first LNG carrier, the Methane Pioneer in 1959.

In China, it was the class of choice for the first ten large LNG ships (147 000 m3 and 172 000 m3) built in the country's yards. ABS has also worked on several CNG carrier concepts, supporting them through the approval in principle process or to final approval.