CHINA'S first locally built liquefied natural gas tanker has completed its maiden voyage transporting fuel from Australia to southern Guangdong Province.

Guangdong Dapeng LNG Co, the nation's only LNG importer, received its first cargo from the Dapeng Sun on Friday, the Shenzhen-based company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday.

The tanker is one of five Chinese shipyards are building to serve LNG receiving terminals planned for the world's fastest-growing major economy. Demand for LNG is rising as China promotes gas as a cleaner-burning alternative to coal and oil, Bloomberg News reported.

"With this vessel, the company furthers its position as a pioneer in the LNG industry in China," Thomas King, Guangdong Dapeng LNG president, said.

The Dapeng Sun is operated by China LNG Ship Management Company, a joint venture between China LNG Shipping Holding Ltd and BP Shipping Ltd.

Guangdong Dapeng LNG, which started operating in May 2006, is a venture between China National Offshore Oil Corp and BP Plc.

LNG is natural gas that has been chilled to liquid form, reducing it to one six hundredth of its original volume.