Qatari Nakilat Takes New LNG Tanker

Qatari fleet owner Nakilat has taken delivery of a newbuild LNG carrier, the 174,000 m³ Global Energy for commercial and technical operations, it said May 20. Built by Korean Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), this is the first of four same-sized LNG carrier newbuilds to be delivered to Global Shipping Co, a joint venture of Nakilat (60%) and Maran Ventures (40%).

The delivery of all four newbuild LNG carriers by end-2021 will bring Nakilat’s fleet to 74 vessels, which is just under 12% of current global LNG fleet in carrying capacity – a smaller proportion than Qatar's share of the LNG market.

Nakilat said it was "committed to grow our fleet in a sustainable manner to meet the rising demand for clean energy transport globally. The addition of this technologically-advanced newbuild to our fleet not only gives us a competitive edge, but also allows us to provide additional capacity and flexibility to our customers, which is important in a dynamic marketplace."

Together with the takeover of the remaining vessels formerly co-owned with Anglo-Dutch Shell, the company said it was taking steps to "maximise returns for our shareholders and strengthen our position as the leading transporter of clean energy.”

Two of the four carriers have ME-GI engines and the other two have X-DF engines. 

Maran Ventures said: "Nakilat has been a strategic partner for many years and we are pleased to be taking delivery of this first LNG vessel under our new global shipping JV."