Hudong building MOL LNG quartet

Industry sources say Hudong will construct four 170,000m3 LNG carriers for Japanese shipowner Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) that will serve the ExxonMobil-led transport of LNG from Papua New Guinea and Exxon’s Western Australia Gorgon Jansz project.

The four-ship order will bring the yard’s LNG-carrier newbuildings up to 10 ships. Hudong-Zhonghua has built and delivered five 147,000m3 LNG carriers to date and currently has a sixth vessel of similar size under construction for delivery in 2012. All six vessels have been contracted by Cosco/China Merchants joint venture China LNG Shipping (Holdings).