Domestic shipbuilders chart new course with LNG carriers

SHANGHAI: The burgeoning demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in China has opened a new window for domestic shipbuilders, who are now charting plans to build more LNG carriers to transport the fuel.

The demand surge has been necessitated as winter power demand has already sapped much of the existing LNG supplies.

Leading gas supplier PetroChina had in late November said it would import an extra of 10 normal-sized spot cargos, equivalent to about 540,000 tons of LNG in the coming months to tide over the shortfall.