As part of the second ship-owner tender under QatarEnergy’s historic LNG fleet expansion initiative, the company signed long-term time charter party (TCP) agreements with four international shipowners for the operation of nineteen brand-new, ultra-modern conventional size LNG vessels.
The agreements cover the operation of three boats operated by MISC Berhad, six vessels operated by Shandong Marine Energy (Singapore) Pte Ltd., and six vessels operated by CMES LNG Carrier Investment Inc.; all of the vessels are being built at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. The next four ships are being built at Hanwha Ocean (previously Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), also in South Korea, and will be managed by a joint venture between Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd. (K-Line) and Hyundai Glovis Co. Ltd.
HE Four distinct sets of agreements were signed by Saad Sherida Al Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs and President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Wang Yongxin, the President and CEO of CMES LNG Carrier Investment, Li Maozhong, the Chairman of Shandong Marine Energy, Satoshi Kanamori, the Managing Executive Officer of K Line, Jungsuk Kim, the Vice President of Hyundai Glovis, and Captain Rajalingam Subramaniam, the President and CEO of MISC Berhad. Senior executives from QatarEnergy, QatarEnergy LNG, and the four shipowner businesses were present at a special ceremony conducted at QatarEnergy’s headquarters in Doha today to sign the agreements.
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“Todays signings form a significant milestone in QatarEnergys LNG fleet expansion program, as it marks the conclusion of the conventional sizes vessels portion of program,” HE Al Kaabi said in a statement on this occasion. “This brings the total number of ships for which we have signed TCPs to 104 vessels, a massive undertaking that is the largest shipbuilding and leasing program ever in the history of the industry.”
In addition to fulfilling our long-term fleet replacement needs, these ships will support our increased LNG production capacity from the North Field in Qatar and Golden Pass in the United States. Following a thorough and demanding worldwide tender, the meticulous shipowner selection process demonstrated QatarEnergy’s dedication to growing its fleet of contemporary LNG carriers in partnership with top-tier shipowners and in an open and transparent manner.”
His Excellency went on to say: “This is an important undertaking that will enable QatarEnergy to continue delivering cleaner energy to the world safely and reliably.”
As part of its historic LNG fleet expansion program, QatarEnergy has inked a number of TCPs for the long-term leasing and operation of 104 conventional LNG vessels since 2022. In addition to fulfilling QatarEnergy’s long-term fleet replacement needs, this program will support the company’s growing LNG production capacity from the North Field LNG expansion and Golden Pass LNG export projects.
Out of the 104 ships, 43 will be chartered by QatarEnergy’s affiliate, “QatarEnergy Trading.” This will make it the largest single-step ship acquisition program in the history of the LNG industry for any one entity, and it will put both QatarEnergy and QatarEnergy Trading firmly on the path to becoming a major global LNG trader.
With a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters apiece, the 19 conventional LNG boats that are a part of today’s agreements will be outfitted with the newest LNG shipping technologies, representing QatarEnergy’s continuous efforts to attain maximum fuel efficiency and minimize carbon emissions.
