LNG

Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), whose energy fleet includes over 150 tankers for oil and other products and around 90 LNG carriers, reported stable LNG profits while the containership business was badly hit by a “tidal wave” of new vessels in the sector.

Hanwha Ocean, the South Korean shipbuilding company formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, is said to be considering a move into the offshore platforms and drilling sector while continuing to increase its LNG carrier newbuild backlog.

Korean regulatory information shows that Hanwha Ocean has registered two new trademarks, suggesting expansion into the maritime energy drilling sector as the nation’s companies seek more profitability.

The registrations concern “Hanwha Drilling” and “Hanwha shipping”, though the Group has yet to disclose its intentions.

Hanwha Ocean, formerly DSME, was acquired by the Korean conglomerate, the Hanwha Group, in 2022 and was rebranded as Hanwha Ocean in May 2023.

Two Japanese companies have just filed an order for an LNG carrier to be built at Hanwha Ocean’s Geoje Shipyard in South Korea.

Tokyo Gas, the utility company and LNG importer, said its Tokyo LNG Tanker Company concluded a long-term charter contract with Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) for this newbuild vessel ordered by MOL.  

MOL LNG fleet

MOL has a growing energy shipping business with a fleet including over 150 tankers for oil and other products and about 90 LNG carriers.

Tokyo Gas said that the charter agreement meant that the company had 11 LNG carriers fixed under a long-term charter.

The utility said that the MOL-owned newbuild would have 174,000 cubic metres capacity and be delivered in 2026.

The carrier will have a service speed of 1.5 knots and would be 295 metres in length and a beam of 46.4M.

“The Hanwha Ocean-built vessel will be equipped with the state-of-the-art MAN Energy Solutions engine (ME-GA) with improved fuel consumption efficiency and is expected to significantly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions compared to conventional LNG carriers,” said the utility.

“From 2026, the vessel will be utilised for TG Group’s LNG procurement and LNG trading,” it added.

“With this charter contract, the TG Group will continue to promote stable energy procurement while giving further consideration to the environment amid the changing surroundings of the global LNG market,” it added.

Nov 24 (LNGJ) - Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines, whose “energy business fleet” includes over 150 tankers for oil and other products and about 90 LNG carriers, reported higher profits and revenues for the first six months of the year. Revenues in the energy shipping division, one of five in the MOL Group, amounted to 214.9 billion yen ($1.43Bln), up from 189.1Bln yen in the same six months last year. Net profits increased to 37.6Bln yen ($252M) from 22.1Bln yen in the prior-year period.

   Takeshi Hashimoto, President and Chief Executive of MOL, said he was very pleased with the results for the first six months to the end of September. “We accumulated profits in the energy business and car-carrier business, both of which are the strengths of the MOL Group,” Hashimoto explained. “Performance in the first half exceeded forecasts as a result, and with the weaker yen also expected to have an impact on profits in the second half, we have raised the forecast for second-half profits to 220Bln yen ($1.47Bln),” Hashimoto added.