VESSEL REVIEW | BG Belle – Chinese oil and asphalt tanker to sail on international trade routes

China’s Zhejiang Zhenxing Shipbuilding recently delivered a new tanker to local shipowner Zhejiang Jingsheng Import and Export Trade.

BG Belle is classed by China Classification Society and is built to be capable of transporting asphalt, coal tar in bulk, and refined oil with a flash point of less than 60 degrees Celsius. The heating temperature of the cargo tanks does not exceed 220 degrees Celsius.

Reinforced hull for year-round navigation even in polar zones

The newbuild has an LOA of 119.99 metres (393.67 feet), a beam of 18.5 metres (60.7 feet), a depth of 9.5 metres (31 feet), and a deadweight of approximately 8,500. A 3,310kW (4,440hp) main engine delivers a service speed of 13.7 knots.

The hull is reinforced to ensure safe navigation in class B ice areas with thin first-year ice, while the diesel engine can run on low-sulphur oil and is equipped with a selective catalytic reduction exhaust gas aftertreatment unit.

Built to ensure safe cargo transport

The cargo hold houses independent tanks, while the main hull of the cargo hold area is a single-bottom, double-hull type.

Each cargo tank’s structure is of a longitudinal skeleton type, and the other areas are of transverse skeleton type.

AnYang AngJia Electric supplied some of the ship’s electrical equipment including the switchboards.

Design work on BG Belle was undertaken by Ningbo Oriental Shipbuilding Design Institute.