MOL names second LNG carrier for charter with GAIL
MOL names second LNG carrier for charter with GAIL - Offshore Energy
MOL names second LNG carrier for charter with GAIL
Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has revealed that a naming ceremony was held for the second liquified natural gas (LNG) carrier to serve GAIL (India), the largest natural gas supplier under India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
As informed, the naming ceremony for the vessel Gail Urja, which was built by South Korean shipbuilding major Hanwha Ocean, was held at Okpo Shipyard on December 19.
The vessel has a length of 294.9 meters, and a beam of 46.3. meters. The capacity of the LNG carrier is 174,000 cbm.
After delivery, Gail Urja is heading towards the US for its first loading. The ship will be engaged mainly in LNG transport from North America to India under a time charter contract with GAIL.
Back in 2022, GAIL and MOL signed a charter agreement for the LNG carrier. It is expected that demand for gas will be increasing continuously in India, registering significant economic growth. MOL has been participating in the Indian market since the beginning of LNG import into the country. The first LNG carrier newbuild, Gail Bhuwan, was named at a ceremony held in February 2021.
Related Knowledge Center: Liquefied natural gas
Driven by plentiful natural gas produced from shale plays, the United States began exporting liquefied natural gas in 2016 when the Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana opened and shipped its first cargo. Since then, additional capacity, or trains, have been added to Sabine Pass, and terminals have become operational in Cameron Parish, La.; Hackberry, La.; Cove Point, Md.; and Corpus Christi, Texas. The Energy Information Administration projects that U.S. LNG export capacity will reach 8.9 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world, behind Australia and Qatar. The tariff war with China has the potential to impact some final investment decisions for additional terminals in the coming months.