China State Shipbuilding Corporation has received the world's largest single shipbuilding order from Qatar's state-owned petroleum giant QatarEnergy.

CSSC's unit Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group will design and build 18 liquefied natural gas carriers with a capacity of 271,000 cubic meters each, Xinhua reported, citing the deal's signing ceremony held in Beijing today.

With a length of 344 meters, a beam of 53.6 m, and a depth of 27.2 m, the ships from the deal will be the largest ever built, about 57 percent bigger than the conventional 174,000-cubic-meter LNG carriers.

LNG carriers are used to transport LNG at minus 163 degrees Celsius, making them one of the most challenging ship types to build.

（Picture: Veer）