First CNG Carrier Undelivered

Jayanti Baruna

The world’s first Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) carrier, the 2,200 cubic meter-capacity Jayanti Baruna, which was completed last year by China’s Jiangsu Hantong shipyard for Indonesia’s Pelayaran Bahtera Adhiguna, has not been delivered because the planned receiving terminal for the ship has never been completed.

Measuring 98-meters by 16-meters the innovative vessel was specifically designed to carry compressed rather than liquefied gas, and at a very high pressure of 200 bar (2,900 psi). This is accomplished using a series of 832 vertically arranged 12-meter tall cylinders designed and fabricated by China’s CIMC Enrie.

The 1,280-dwt ship is also powered by gas, using a 9-cylinder Wärtsilä 34DF dual-fuel main engine driving a Wärtsilä controllable-pitch propeller to give a service speed of 14 knots. CNG is considered a more economical alternative to LNG when short distances are involved and the ship was to have traded between several nearby islands in Indonesia for that country’s state-owned power generator, Perusahaan Listrik Negara.

By Pacific Maritime