In an old border checkpoint that has become an upscale seaside suburb of Shenzhen, Chinese officers wait to join their ships at the Shatoujiao Guest House. The late-night receptionist knows Captain Li Jun’s schedule without looking it up.

Tomorrow afternoon he will board China LNG’s (CLNG’s) 147,200-cbm Dapeng Sun at the Guangdong terminal just visible across the bay on the Dapeng Peninsula.

Tonight