World's Largest Ethane Carrier Delivered
MISC Berhad (MISC) has taken delivery of the world's largest very large ethane carrier (VLEC) at the Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) shipyard in Geoje, South Korea.
The newbuild 98,000 cubic meter capacity Seri Everest, MISC's first VLEC, is the lead vessel in a series of six that the shipowner purchased from Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical (STL) in July 2020. Concurrently, MISC had also entered into time charter parties (TCPs) with STL, for the six VLECs to operate in international waters. Seri Everest will be chartered to STL for a firm period of 15 years and managed by Eaglestar Shipmanagement Gas (S) Pte. Ltd.
SHI and Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. are constructing the rest of the five VLECs scheduled to be delivered in the first half of 2021.
A second phase of the order also includes six vessels, bringing the total to 12, scheduled for trade from the U.S. to China to support STL’s Ethane Cracker facility in Jiangsu province.
Yee Yang Chien, President and Group Chief Executive Officer of MISC, said, “We are proud to welcome Seri Everest, our first VLEC into MISC’s existing fleet. With this first delivery, our VLEC has set a new benchmark in the ethane market. Seri Everest has the capacity of transporting large scale ethane over long distance while ensuring the highest level of safety and reliability. We hope to continue to capitalize on this opportunity as we are confident that we will gain a strong foothold to cater to the increasing demand in this niche segment. We are also pleased that Seri Everest is delivered according to schedule amidst the disruption caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.”
Seri Everest is the first VLEC to be delivered with the LNG Cargo Ready notation that was released by ABS in 2019. The notation provides assurance to owners and charterers that the VLEC can be upgraded to trade liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargoes in the future.
“As part of the shale gas revolution, shipping of liquefied ethane is developing into a significant new market. At ABS we have supported this development from the early stages and are happy to see that this leadership role is being recognized in the current VLEC market,” said Christopher J. Wiernicki, ABS Chairman, President and CEO.
Hohyun Jeong, SHI Executive Vice President, Engineering Operations, said, “It has big implications to have the VLEC delivered successfully on time during the pandemic as well as the good performance with the newly introduced ABS notation ‘LNG Cargo Ready’ applied. The VLEC has been built with a cargo containment system for dual cargo loading and the cargo handling system can be converted for LNGC at any time, as needed. It has been all thanks to the close cooperation with ABS, STL and MISC working from anywhere, regardless of location, based on non-face-to-face technologies well-prepared in advance.”
