(Yicai) Aug. 28 -- Shares in China CSSC Holdings advanced as much as 3.7 percent today after the Chinese shipbuilder said it has received an order for six of the world’s biggest ethane carriers from Singaporean ocean freight firm Eastern Pacific Shipping.

CSSC’s share price [SHA: 600150] climbed 0.9 percent to trade at CNY38.65 (USD5.42) as of 2 p.m. Earlier in the day it hit CNY39.76.

CSSC unit Jiangnan Shipyard Group will deliver six 150,000-cubic-meter Ultra Large Ethane Carriers, which are the largest of their type in the world, Shanghai-based CSSC said yesterday, citing deals Jiangnan Shipyard signed respectively with six single-vessel subsidiaries under Eastern Pacific Shipping on Aug. 26. 

The Ultra Large Ethane Carrier is a new generation of chemical gas carrier developed by Shanghai-based Jiangnan Shipyard that can be used for the ocean transportation of ethane, ethylene and liquefied petroleum gas, Jiangnan Shipyard said yesterday. Named the 'Magnolia,' after the state flower of the US state Louisiana, the vessel is also LNG Ready, which means it can be easily converted to future LNG-fuel use.

Deliveries should start in 2027, CSSC said. Eastern Pacific will make payment in offshore Chinese yuan. The value of the contract was not disclosed.

Eastern Pacific, which is one of the world’s largest independent shipowners and manages a diversified fleet of over 270 vessels, ordered six of the world’s biggest ammonia carriers from Jiangnan Shipyard last year, marking the first tie-up between the pair, CSSC added.

Editor: Kim Taylor