MOL orders 4 LNG carriers to serve Novatek

Japanese shipping heavyweight Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has ordered four newbuilding liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to serve Novatek Gas and Power Asia, a subsidiary of Russia’s PAO Novatek.

As disclosed, the vessels were ordered at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. (DSME), and are slated for delivery in 2024.

The 174,000 cbm LNG carriers will be equipped with MAN Energy Solutions’ engines, which are expected to offer improvements in fuel efficiency.

They will also adopt a new design that generates less boil-off gas from cargo tanks through the use of the re-liquefaction unit on board, and a shaft generator system that uses the rotating propeller shaft for power generation.

These vessels are considerably more environmentally friendly than current LNG carriers, the company pointed out.

In November 2020, MOL also signed charter agreements for three icebreaking LNG carriers with LLC ARCTIC LNG 2, a unit of the Russian LNG operator Novatek.

The new contracts are a part of MOL’s ambition to deploy net-zero emissions ocean-going vessels in the 2020s in line with its environmental vision of achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

Under the vision goals, the company plans to have around 90 LNG-fueled vessels in 2030 and approximately 110 net zero ships using alternative fuels in 2035.