记者从江苏南通海事局获悉，3月23日上午，在海事部门的监管维护下，全球首艘压缩天然气（CNG）运输船在江苏启东交付开航。该船将赴印尼服务于该国调峰电厂岛屿间的天然气运输，每航次运输压缩天然气量可达70万方。

此次交付离港的全球首艘CNG运输船，以天然气为动力，双燃料主机驱动，船长110米，设计航速14节，入级美国船级社（ABS）和印尼船级社。相比较于LNG液化天然气运输船，CNG运输船以常温高压状态下将天然气存储于船上的压力容器，无需液化装置和再气化终端等昂贵的设施，因此CNG投资费用明显较低。记者了解到，该船在建造过程中经过多轮优化改进，最终探索突破了CNG运输船的总体布置、货物系统、燃料系统、航行性能等诸多难题。

The reporter learned from the Jiangsu Nantong Maritime Safety Administration that on the morning of March 23, under the supervision and maintenance of the maritime department, the world's first compressed natural gas (CNG) carrier was delivered and set sail in Qidong, Jiangsu. The vessel will travel to Indonesia to serve gas transportation between the islands of the country's peak power plant, transporting up to 700,000 cubic meters of compressed natural gas per voyage.

The delivery of the world's first CNG carrier, powered by natural gas, dual fuel main engine drive, length of 110 meters, design speed of 14 knots, classified by the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and Indonesian Classification Society. Compared with LNG carriers, CNG carriers store natural gas in pressure vessels on board at room temperature and high pressure, without expensive facilities such as liquefaction units and regasification terminals, so the investment cost of CNG is significantly lower. The reporter learned that the ship underwent several rounds of optimization and improvement in the construction process, and finally explored and broke through many problems such as the overall arrangement, cargo system, fuel system and navigation performance of CNG transport ships.