LNG

The American Bureau of Shipping, the US classification society, said the first of an order of 12 very large ethane carriers (VLECs) with LNG notation and built to ABS Class has been delivered from the Goeje shipyard in South Korea of Samsung Heavy Industries.

The “Seri Everest” was handed over to Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical (STL) and is the first of a phase-one order by STL which was subsequently sold to the Malaysian shipping line, MISC Group.

The vessel with more than 98,000 cubic metres capacity is the largest VLEC ever built.

A second phase of the order also includes six vessels, bringing the total to 12, scheduled for trade from the US to China to support STL’s ethane cracker facility in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu.

“This is the first VLEC to be delivered with the LNG Cargo-Ready notation that was released by ABS in 2019,” said the US class society.

“The notation provides assurance to owners and charterers that the VLEC can be upgraded to trade LNG cargoes in the future,” ABS explained.

Christopher J. Wiernicki, Chairman, President and Chief Executive of Houston, Texas-based ABS said that as part of the shale-gas revolution, shipping of liquefied ethane was developing into a significant new market.

“At ABS we have supported this development from the early stages and are happy to see that this leadership role is being recognized in the current VLEC market,” added Wiernicki.

Yee Yang Chien, President and Group Chief Executive of MISC, said he was proud to welcome “Seri Everest” as the first VLEC in MISC’s existing fleet.

“With this first delivery, our VLEC has set a new benchmark in the ethane market,” added Yee.

“The ‘Seri Everest’ has the capacity of transporting large-scale ethane over long distances while ensuring the highest level of safety and reliability,” stated the MISC CEO.

“We hope to continue to capitalize on this opportunity as we are confident that we will gain a strong foothold to cater to the increasing demand in this niche segment,” said Yee.

The MISC CEO noted that he was pleased that the “Seri Everest” was delivered according to schedule amidst the disruption caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic.

Hohyun Jeong, SHI Executive Vice President for Engineering Operations, said that it was great to have the VLEC delivered on time during the pandemic as well as with the addition of the newly introduced ABS LNG Cargo Ready notation.

“The VLEC has been built with a cargo containment system for dual cargo loading and the cargo-handling system can be converted for LNG at any time, as needed,” Jeong explained.

“It has been all thanks to the close cooperation with ABS, STL and MISC working from anywhere, regardless of location,” he added.

ABS is the leader in provision of classification services to VLEC owners.

The US class society was chosen to oversee the very first order for six dedicated VLECs in 2014 by the Indian company, Reliance Industries.

ABS said the 87,000 cubic metres capacity VLECs have been successfully trading for Reliance and laid the foundation for the next generation of larger VLECs.

MISC Group, the Malaysian company with more than 30 liquefied natural gas carriers in its fleet and with engineering and offshore divisions, is hoping to build on the momentum for growth in the shipping sector after sensing increased demand and securing two LNG carrier charters from ExxonMobil.

MISC Berhad, the Malaysian shipping line with a liquefied natural gas carrier fleet of more than 30 vessels, said it had signed time charters for two newbuild LNG carriers with ExxonMobil Corp.

MISC Berhad, the Malaysian shipping line with an LNG fleet of more than 30 vessels, said it signed an agreement with Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and trading house Mitsubishi Corp. to co-own two newbuild LNG carriers to mainly serve the LNG Canada export project in British Columbia.

MISC Berhad, the Malaysian shipping line, has taken its liquefied natural gas fleet to 30 vessels by acquiring two older ships from Italy’s energy company Eni and chartering them back to the Italians in a deal with the potential for the carriers to be future conversions for floating LNG projects.

MISC Berhad, the Malaysian shipping line with 29 LNG carriers, said LNG spot rates rose to a peak in the third quarter after a lacklustre start for the year, fueled by higher Chinese imports as the company expected the spot market to remain good for profits.

Malaysian International Shipping Corp., whose liquefied natural gas fleet comprises 30 vessels among its 120 ships, posted lower first-quarter revenue and profits, though the outlook for the LNG sector was viewed by the company as positive.

Feb 28 (LNGJ) - Malaysian International Shipping Corp. has taken delivery of the LNG carrier “Seri Camar”, the fourth in a series of five vessels with Moss-type storage tanks. The 150,200 cubic metres capacity carrier was built at Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and benefits from an Integrated Hull Structure (IHS) with four spherical tanks shielded by a continuous cover, fortifying the vessel to allow for operation in even the harshest marine environments. Owned by MISC and chartered to state energy company Petronas, the Malaysian-flagged vessel was delivered at a naming ceremony held at the HHI yard in the Korean port of Ulsan. “We’re proud to celebrate our 50th anniversary this year, growing from strength to strength to become one of the leading global providers of energy related maritime solutions and services,” said MISC President and Chief Executive Yee Yang Chien.

Malaysia International Shipping Corp. (MISC), whose LNG fleet comprises more than 30 vessels, said the LNG shipping sector faced ongoing tonnage oversupply and a difficult market in 2018 as it posted higher revenues and lower profits before tax in its annual earnings.

AET Tankers, a subsidiary of Malaysia International Shipping Corp., said it had chosen liquefied natural gas as the dual-fuel propulsion option for up to four of its new Aframax tankers currently under construction with Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea.