HD Hyundai, GTT, LR develop 150,000 cbm ethane carrier as trade scales. 22 September 2026 Estimated reading time: 5 minutes HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, GTT and Lloyd's Register are developing a 150,000 cubic metre ultra large ethane carrier as growing ethane trade pushes ship designers toward larger vessels and greater transport efficiency. The companies have signed a joint development project agreement covering the design and technical assessment of the proposed vessel, which will incorporate GTT's Mark III Slim cargo containment system. The project was announced at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok and brings together shipbuilding, containment technology and classification expertise to examine whether ethane carrier capacity can be increased to 150,000 cbm while meeting existing safety and regulatory requirements. The proposed ship would represent the largest vessel design in the ethane carrier segment. Larger ships target changing ethane economics. Ethane has developed into an increasingly important seaborne commodity as petrochemical producers source feedstock across longer international supply chains. That creates a relatively simple commercial question for shipowners and cargo interests: if more ethane must travel farther, can larger ships reduce the transportation cost for each cubic metre carried? Increasing vessel capacity to 150,000 cbm could allow operators to move considerably larger parcels on individual voyages. The economics, however, depend on more than simply building bigger tanks. Vessel dimensions, terminal compatibility, loading and discharge infrastructure, propulsion requirements, cargo handling systems and port restrictions all become part of the equation as ship size increases. The joint project will therefore examine the technical challenges associated with scaling ethane transportation rather than focusing only on additional cargo capacity. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will contribute vessel design and shipbuilding expertise, while GTT will provide its cargo containment technology. Lloyd's Register will undertake classification and technical assurance work and review the design against its applicable rules. Mark III Slim enters ULEC design. A central part of the project is the integration of GTT's Mark III Slim containment system. The membrane technology is intended to help increase available cargo capacity while controlling the weight and space requirements associated with the containment system. For a vessel carrying 150,000 cbm of ethane, those factors become important because additional structural weight or lost tank volume can affect the economic benefit gained from increasing the overall size of the ship. GTT Chief Executive Officer François Michel said the technology could provide greater efficiency in ethane transportation through increased cargo capacity and shorter vessel construction times. The partners will examine how the containment system can be incorporated into the larger hull while maintaining safety, reliability and compliance requirements. Their work will cover vessel design development, containment integration, safety considerations and the classification and regulatory requirements applying to a carrier of this size. HHI targets lower weight and improved performance. HHI said the 150,000 cbm design is intended to combine lower weight with improved vessel performance. Chief Technology Officer Hongryeul Ryu said the shipbuilder has focused on designs adapted to operating conditions and customer requirements, with the new project following the same approach. "The JDP is founded on the same design philosophy and aims to introduce a new solution that enhances both vessel performance and economic efficiency," Ryu said. HHI expects the Mark III Slim system to contribute to weight reduction while allowing the shipyard to examine how a larger ethane carrier could be built without sacrificing operational performance. The development could also provide the industry with technical benchmarks for future ULEC projects. Unlike conventional container shipping, where increasing vessel size has been pursued for decades across established port networks, ethane shipping depends on a much more specialised chain of production facilities, export terminals, ships and receiving infrastructure. Increasing ship capacity therefore requires coordination across the entire transport chain. Classification work focuses on technical pathway. LR will assess the proposed design against its classification rules and examine the safety and technical implications of moving into the 150,000 cbm range. Constantinos Chaelis, LR's Global Gas Segment Director, said owners are examining larger vessel concepts as ethane trade expands and operators look for improvements in voyage economics. "As the ethane trade expands, owners are looking for larger and more efficient vessel concepts that can deliver operational and commercial advantages without compromising safety or reliability," Chaelis said. He said the project is intended to establish a credible technical pathway for future vessels in the segment. That distinction matters because the agreement covers development and technical assessment rather than an announced construction order. The work is intended to establish whether the concept can satisfy the design, containment, operational and safety requirements needed before future commercial projects move toward construction. Ethane shipping moves toward greater scale. The development reflects a broader move toward larger specialised gas carriers as international gas and petrochemical supply chains evolve. For ethane exporters and importers, vessel capacity directly influences how much product can be moved on each voyage and how frequently terminals need to handle ships. For shipowners, the calculation also includes capital cost, fuel consumption, utilisation and the ability of terminals on intended trade routes to accommodate vessels of this size. A 150,000 cbm carrier would push those calculations into new territory for the ethane sector. The JDP will give HHI, GTT and LR a technical framework for assessing those trade offs before any future vessel moves from concept into commercial construction. GTT said the Mark III Slim system could increase cargo capacity while reducing construction time, while HHI sees the containment technology as part of a design aimed at lowering weight and improving performance. For LR, the immediate task is ensuring that the increase in scale can be matched by the classification, safety and technical framework required for vessels carrying ethane across increasingly long international trade routes. DISCLAIMER: "Breakbulk.News publishes editorial content, including news, features and press releases supplied by third-party companies, institutions and PR agencies. Third parties who submit material to us are solely responsible for ensuring that all text, images, logos and other content they provide are accurate and that they hold all necessary rights, licences and permissions for news use. By submitting content to Breakbulk.News, contributors represent and warrant that their material does not infringe the rights (including copyright and related rights) of any third party and agree to indemnify Breakbulk.News respecting any claims arising from their submissions. human-edited, AI-assist. 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New 150,000 cbm ULEC project aims to scale ethane transportation with GTT's latest cargo containment system. (L-R) Hongryeul Ryu, Chief Technology Officer, HHI; François Michel, Chief Executive Officer, GTT; and Andy McKeran, Chief Growth Officer HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, GTT and LR have launched a joint project to develop a 150,000 cbm ultra-large ethane carrier, exploring the next step in large-scale ethane transportation. Lloyd's Register (LR), HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) and GTT have signed a joint development project (JDP) agreement to develop and technically assess a 150,000 cbm ultra-large ethane carrier (ULEC), incorporating GTT's Mark III Slim design. Announced at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok, the project will bring together HHI's shipbuilding expertise, GTT's cargo containment technology and LR's classification and technical assurance capabilities to develop and review the vessel design in accordance with LR Rules. The 150,000 cbm ULEC concept is the largest vessel design for the ethane carrier segment. As ethane trade volumes continue to grow and voyage economics become an increasingly important consideration for operators, the industry is exploring larger vessel concepts capable of transporting greater cargo volumes while maintaining high standards of safety, operability and efficiency. Through the JDP, the partners will evaluate the technical challenges and opportunities associated with scaling ethane carrier capacity to 150,000 cbm. The project will focus on vessel design development, cargo containment integration, safety considerations and compliance with applicable classification and regulatory requirements. The collaboration aims to establish a robust technical foundation for future ultra-large ethane carrier projects while providing greater understanding of the design, operational and safety considerations associated with vessels of this scale. Constantinos Chaelis, Global Gas Segment Director, LR, said: "As the ethane trade expands, owners are looking for larger and more efficient vessel concepts that can deliver operational and commercial advantages without compromising safety or reliability. "This collaboration provides an opportunity to apply our advanced gas carrier expertise to the development of a credible and technically robust 150,000 cbm ULEC concept that helps establish a clear technical pathway for future projects in this segment." Hongryeul Ryu, Chief Technology Officer, HHI, said: "HHI has continuously pursued technological innovation, with optimized ship designs tailored to operating conditions and customer requirements serving as one of its core design values. "This JDP is founded on the same design philosophy and aims to introduce a new solution that enhances both vessel performance and economic efficiency. "HHI's 150,000 cbm ULEC, incorporating the MARK III SLIM design, is expected to become a next-generation vessel that achieves both weight reduction and improved performance. Furthermore, this project is anticipated to represent an important milestone in establishing a new paradigm for ship design through the application of the latest cargo containment system (CCS)." François Michel, Chief Executive Officer, GTT, said: "Thanks to the versatility of our technologies, we can deliver greater efficiency across ethane transportation. With Mark III Slim, this translates into increased cargo capacity and shorter vessel construction times. GTT, HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Lloyd's Register share the ambition and responsibility to advance a new generation of increasingly efficient vessels that maintain the same rigorous standards of safety, reliability and industrial compliance."

Lloyd's Register backs fore-accommodation wind-powered LNG carrier design. September 16, 2026 Lloyd's Register has granted Design Appraisal to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries' fore-accommodation LNG carrier design featuring Mitsui O.S.K. Lines' Wind Challenger hard-sail system, advancing the concept towards potential commercial deployment. The appraisal confirms that the design complies with LR's Wind-Assisted Propulsion Systems notation requirements and follows Approval in Principle granted at Gastech 2025. The partners describe the vessel as the world's first fore-accommodation LNG carrier equipped with the Wind Challenger system. The joint development involves LR, HHI, MOL and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Maritime Administrator. The concept relocates the accommodation block and bridge to the bow, freeing up the mid-to-aft deck for the hard sails while maintaining operational and navigational requirements. The arrangement provides flexibility in the number, size and positioning of sails. MOL said the design can accommodate four Wind Challenger sails. "This Design Appraisal represents an important milestone in advancing the practical application of wind-assisted propulsion for LNG carriers. Through close collaboration with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Lloyd's Register, we have demonstrated that the world's first fore-accommodation LNG carrier designed to accommodate four Wind Challenger sails can be realized while maintaining safety, operational effectiveness, and regulatory compliance," said Yoshihiko Sugimoto, Executive Officer and CTO of MOL. The project assessed navigational visibility, hull stability, structural stresses from the hard sails and integrated Emergency Shutdown systems. A hazard identification study and risk assessments were also carried out under LR's Risk Based Certification process. "Through close collaboration with MOL and Lloyd's Register, we have advanced the development of a new LNG carrier concept combining a fore-accommodation arrangement with Wind Challenger in a safe, practical and class-compliant manner. "Achieving Design Appraisal for compliance with LR WAPS Notation demonstrates the technical maturity of the concept and represents an important step toward future commercial application. HD Hyundai Heavy Industries will continue to develop reliable and sustainable LNG carrier solutions for the next generation of shipping," added Hongryeul Ryu, Executive Vice President and CTO of HHI.