New Times Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. has laid the keel for a 155,500-deadweight-tonne (DWT) LNG dual-fuel crude oil tanker at its yard in China.

The crude tanker is being built for Atlantic Ships Ltd c/o Maran Tankers Management.

The keel-laying ceremony for builder’s hull number 0315846 was held on 13 April, with representatives from the shipyard, the Maran site team and classification society Lloyd’s Register (LR) attending the event.

With a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 155,500 tonnes, the tanker falls within the Aframax segment, which generally covers vessels of around 80,000 to 120,000 tonnes deadweight, with larger units of up to about 160,000 tonnes also commonly included.

The dual-fuel capability will allow the vessel to operate on either conventional marine fuels or liquefied natural gas (LNG).

New Times Shipbuilding also indicated continued activity on other projects, with steel cutting for a 299,500-dwt vessel scheduled for 14 April.

Based in Athens, Greece, Maran Tankers Management (MTM) is the oil tanker shipping division of the Angelicoussis Shipping Group. Established in 1992, it specializes in managing oil tankers, providing technical management, chartering, crewing, and HSQE services.