“K” Line christens newly-built LNG carrier

The Pacific Breeze, which was designed by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, is the largest Moss-type liquified natural gas (LNG) carrier built to date, according to Japanese ocean carrier “K” Line.    Japanese ocean carrier “K” Line held a naming ceremony for the newly-built liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Pacific Breeze at Sakaide Shipyard of Tokyo-based Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) on Aug. 31.
   The new vessel, which was designed by KHI, is the largest Moss-type LNG carrier built to date, according to “K” Line, plus the first Moss-type LNG carrier equipped with the Tri-Fuel Diesel (TFD) Propulsion System, which engages in low fuel consumption and is environmentally friendly.
   Moss-type carriers feature spherical tanks to hold LNG, as opposed to Membrane-style carriers, which feature more traditional rectangular-style tanks.
   The 289-meter-long (949 foot) Pacific Breeze has a beam of 52 meters (170 feet) and has a tank capacity of about 182,000 cubic meters (6.42 million cubic feet).
   According to “K” Line, after her delivery, Pacific Breeze will be time-chartered by IT Marine Transport Pte. Ltd., a joint-venture company between Japanese oil company INPEX Corp. and French multinational oil and gas company TOTAL S.A. and will carry LNG to Taiwan from the Ichthys LNG Project in Darwin, Australia.
   It will be consigned by Taiwan-based CPC Corp., whose vice president, Jeng-Zen Fang, has been credited with naming the carrier.