NYK inks long-term charter with CNOOC for six new LNG carriers

May 4, 2022, by Ajsa Habibic

Japanese shipping company Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), through its subsidiary, has signed a long-term charter contract with CNOOC Gas and Power Singapore Trading & Marketing, a group company of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), for six liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.

According to NYK, the company has also entered into a shipbuilding contract for the vessels with China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.

The six vessels are scheduled to be delivered between 2026 and 2027 and will be mainly engaged in LNG transportation to China.

The LNG carriers will be equipped with an X-DF2.1 iCER dual-fuel engine that can operate on fuel oil or boil-off gas stored in its cargo tank.

The vessels will each have a cargo tank capacity of about 174,000 cubic metres and a membrane-type tank that will make use of advanced insulating materials to reduce the boil-off rate.

NYK said it has also signed a project head of agreement with a subsidiary of shipping company China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES) to jointly own and manage the vessels.

According to the company, the partnership with CMES will provide “stable and safe LNG transportation to the CNOOC”.

Consolidating efforts to reach net-zero by 2050, the Japanese company recently launched green brands, aiming to expand its green-business initiatives and low-environmental-impact services in its logistics business.