Jiangnan delivers Lilac Cove, second 93,000 m³ ammonia carrier for Eastern Pacific

Jiangnan Shipyard named and delivered Lilac Cove on 18 September, the second 93,000 m³ very large ammonia carrier (VLAC) in a series for Singapore's Eastern Pacific Shipping. She follows Ivy Cove, the first ship of the class, which was delivered in June 2026.

EPS has ordered six of the ships from the yard, in an order placed in July 2024. The remaining four are to follow in stages.

The ships are built to Jiangnan's own Panda 93A design, derived from the yard's fourth-generation very large gas carrier platform, and are the largest ammonia carriers in the world. Lilac Cove is 230.0 metres long, with a moulded depth of 22.5 metres and a structural draught of 13.0 metres, and has a deadweight of about 86,000 tonnes. She is classed by Lloyd's Register.

Because anhydrous ammonia is denser than conventional LPG, the cargo tanks have been specially strengthened. The ship can carry a full cargo of ammonia, but also LPG cargoes such as propane and butane, which gives the owner a choice of trades while seaborne ammonia volumes are still developing. Jiangnan has fitted a new-generation low-resistance hull form of its own design, intended to keep performance balanced at full load, in ballast and across different cargo densities.

Propulsion is dual-fuel: the main engines can burn LPG as well as conventional marine fuel. That places the class in a growing LPG-fuelled segment. DNV counts 179 LPG-fuelled vessels in the global fleet, with roughly 160 more on order for delivery by 2030.

The combination of ammonia and LPG capability lets the class work as a bridge between the conventional gas carrier trades and the ammonia trades still taking shape, at a time of growing interest in both as cargoes and as marine fuels. For Jiangnan, the delivery is a further step in high-end ammonia carrier construction.

This story is part of the Maritime Briefing of 27 September 2026.