LNG

ADNOC Logistics and Services has exercised options to get two additional next-generation LNG carriers built at China’s Jiangnan shipyard, further expanding its fleet renewal programme. The two vessels, worth $444 million combined, are due for delivery in 2029.

Two LNG tankers seem to have conducted a ship-to-ship (STS) transfer outside the Strait of Hormuz, as suppliers seek to keep fuel moving from inside the Persian Gulf to global markets.

Nine workers were killed and several others injured after hydrogen sulfide gas accumulated in a ballast tank of the former 138,000-m³ LNG carrier HL Ras Laffan (now Rasi, IMO 9176008) during dismantling at the Ferdous Steel yard in Sitakunda, Bangladesh. The Department of Explosives said the H₂S built up in a ballast area, not an LNG cargo tank, and measured 10.8 ppm about four hours after the incident on August 15, with officials suspecting concentrations may have exceeded 100 ppm at the time of exposure. The Ferdous Steel was ordered to suspend operations pending a safety audit.

A second Russian-build ice-class LNG carrier, the Konstantin Posiet, is heading to Asia via the Northern Sea Route, underscoring Moscow’s push to sustain Arctic LNG exports despite Western sanctions.

Asyad Shipping has agreed to sell minority stakes in the companies that own its two newest carriers, Muscat LNG and Musandam LNG, to two Omani investors. The deal leaves Asyad with 80% of each vessel-owning company and brings domestic capital into the group’s gas-shipping platform.

ADNOC Logistics & Services has placed an order for four LNG carriers at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard in a deal valued at around US$900 million. Each of the newbuild vessels will have a capacity of 175 000 cubic meters and is scheduled for delivery in 2029.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resumes, with 22 Japan-linked ships, including six large crude oil tankers and several LNG carriers, transited the strait to exit between July 7 and 9, transport minister Yasushi Kaneko said at a news conference in Tokyo. The number of Japan-flagged vessels in the Gulf has fallen from 45 to just four, with shipowners declining to comment on safety precautions for the crew.

Denmark-based Svanehøj has signed a contract with Drydocks World Dubai to supply LTD gauging systems for the conversion of the LNG carrier LNG Bayelsa into the floating storage unit (FSU) Cap Lopez. Drydocks World Dubai sees strong demand for such conversions amid rising global interest in floating LNG units for flexible gas supply in off-grid regions.

Malaysia’s Petronas has taken delivery of the newbuilt LNG carrier Puteri Kedah, following delivery of a the similar-sized Puteri Johor LNGC on late May. Both vessels are owned by the joint venture companies of ‘K’ LINE.

LNG carrier ordering activity in the first half of 2026 has rebounded from last year’s slowdown, with MS Cardiff Gas, Hayfin and BW LNG again seen circling Korean shipyards for 2029 delivery windows.