Daewoo to Build LNG carrier for Mitsui O.S.K
The Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines will invest up to 50 billion yen ($412 million) to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, reports Nikkei.
Construction of the ships will be contracted to South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), with completion slated for the second half of 2018.
DSME said it will complete the next-generation, environmentally friendly LNG carrier at its shipyard in Geoje, South Gyeongsang Province, by 2018.
Each vessel will have a tank capacity of around 180,000 cu. meters and be able to transport around 1 million tons of LNG annually.
To ease the burden of investment, Mitsui will form a 50-50 joint venture with trading house Itochu that will own the vessels.
The Japanese transport company is the world's largest LNG shipper, with 66 carriers currently in its fleet. With LNG shipments to Europe projected to increase, it plans to expand to 120 vessels by 2020.
Mitsui O.S.K. recently concluded a long-term contract with a subsidiary of German energy giant E.On to ship LNG derived from North American shale gas to E.On's European power plants.
DSME plans to install a partial re-liquefaction system ― state-of-the-art technology to help minimize LNG loss during transport ― into the carrier.
