Nakilat to Shift LNG Fleet Management to Subsidiary

Nakilat Shipping Qatar (NSQL) a wholly owned subsidiary of Nakilat, on October 19 signed an agreement with Shell International Trading and Shipping Company to begin the planned phased transition of the management of Nakilat’s LNG fleet from Shell to NSQL.

Shell has managed Nakilat’s LNG fleet since it was established in 2006. These included the ship management of 14 Q-Max and 11 Q-Flex LNG carriers and the sharing of Shell’s shipping and maritime expertise. The vessels will be transitioned in three phases starting this year.  NSQL currently manages four large LPG carriers and four Q-Flex LNG carriers, Nakilat said.

This will be the world's largest transition of an LNG fleet operation, according to the Qatari firm. The 25 vessels have so far delivered over 320mn m³ of Qatar’s LNG to over 20 countries.

Meanwhile, Nakilat October 17 reported a net profit of Qatari riyal 749mn ($206mn) in the third quarter of 2916 that ended on September 30, down from Qatari riyal 757mn a year ago.