Maritime Reporter & Engineering News, published since 1939, annually prints details on the world’s “Great Ships of the Year.” Among all ships there are LNG driven and bunkering units. Below there are, selected in the December 2017 edition, the top 10 ships of the year, according to the editors.
#10
Polaris Highway: K-Line’s new 7,500 unit pure car/truck carrier
Owner: Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-Line)
Builder: Japan Marine United Corporation
#9
Norwegian Joy: NCL’s first custom-designed ship for the Chinese cruise market
Owner: Norwegian Cruise Line
Builder: Meyer Werft
#8
Tian Kun Hao: a 17,000 ton Chinese dredger dubbed the “Magic Island Maker”
Owner: CCCC Tianjin Dredging
Builder: Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co.
#7
Harvest & Abundance: the first Articulated tug and barge unit (ATB) for liquefied ammonia transport in the Jones Act fleet
Owner: Savage Marine Management Company
Builder: Vigor (barge), Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (tug)
#6
GasChem Beluga: the world’s first vessel with tri-lube type C-tanks for storing liquid ethane gas
Owner: Ocean Yield ASA
Builder: Sinopacific Offshore Engineering
#5
MS Viikki: the world’s first LNG powered handysize bulker
Owner: ESL Shipping
Builder: Sinotrans & CSC Jinling Shipyard
#4
Engie Zeebrugge: the first purpose built LNG bunkering vessel
Owner: ENGIE SA, Mitsubishi Corporation, NYK
Builder: Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co.
#3
USS Gerald R. Ford: first-of-class aircraft carrier for the U.S. Navy
Owner: U.S. Navy
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding
#2
Christoph de Margerie: the world’s first icebreaking LNG carrier.
Owner: Sovcomflot
Builder: Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co.
#1
MOL FSRU Challenger: the world’s largest floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU Max).
Owner: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
Builder: Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co
Source and more information: MarineLink, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News , ESL Shipping, Engie, Sovcomflot