Because of the damaged Nord Stream pipeline and the Russo-Ukraine war, gas supplies in Europe are tight. In response, orders for LNG vessels saw double-digit growth with Chinese shipbuilders reporting orderbook backlogs through to 2026.

A Shanghai shipyard is using 100 per cent of its dock capacity and has orders on hand until 2026, even though it's working on 18 large ships around the clock, according to media reports.

LNG ships have high requirements for the standard of craftsmanship, advanced production line and complete and stable supply chains, experts said. China, as the world's manufacturing hub, owns many self-developed shipbuilding technologies.

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group , a shipbuilder under CSSC, is working around the clock to build giant LNG ships. An employee said that orders have been surging, and six ships are under production. Employees are working in two shifts and the yard is running at full capacity.

Europe is the world's third-largest consumer for LNG, heavily relying on imports that arrive via pipelines as well as LNG carriers.

As the European energy crisis keeps deepening, European energy traders are looking everywhere for LNG carriers.

An employee with CSSC said that as of October 12, the world-class shipbuilder had received 139 orders for large LNG ships, according to media reports.

Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co has orders for delivering 33 large-capacity LNG ships, of which 26 are new this year, and many other projects are being negotiated.

Jiangnan Shipyard (Group) Co under China State Shipbuilding Co (CSSC) recently delivered a new 30,000-cubic-metre LNG carrier for Dutch shipowner Anthony Veder.

The vessel uses many new types of technology, equipment and standards, and it's the largest C-type binaural LNG tanker in the world.

"Countries in Europe and Asia are the major markets for Chinese shipbuilders for their high standards, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict has intensified the trend," said Chen Daxi, vice chairman of the Zhejiang Shipbuilding Engineering Society.

Mr Chen said that China's shipbuilding sector is leading the world, mainly due to its advanced technology and production capacity.

An LNG carrier normally takes about two years to build and a stable supply chain is needed for the smooth production, and a complete supply chain and mature production lines make it possible for China to take more orders and complete them on time," the expert said.

In the first eight months, China's shipbuilding completion volume reached 23.94 million tons, accounting for 45.4 per cent of the world market, and the number of new orders ranks first in the world, data from the China Association of the National Shipbuilding Industry showed.