Daewoo confirms mega LNG carrier order

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) signed a $900 million contract with a consortium including Qatar Gas Transport Co. (QGTC) for the construction of four 216,000 cubic metre LNG carriers.

Commerzleasing, a unit of Commerzbank, will own 54% of the four vessels, QTCL will hold 45% and German’s Pronav the remaining 1%. At the same time, the QGTC and the German-Qatari joint-venture signed a 25-year charter agreement with Qatar Gas II, a joint venture between state-owned Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil Corp., beginning in 2007-2008, when the newbuildings are expected to be delivered.

These LNG tankers will be the largest of their kind and will be used by Qatar Gas II to transport LNG to the UK market. Each vessel will be powered by twin slow speed diesel engines and will have on- board liquefaction capability to handle cargo boil off.