Largest LNG carrier named in Korea

A ship, said to be the world?s largest LNG vessel, has been named at Samsung Heavy Industry?s (SHI) shipyard on Geoje Island, South Korea.

The Lloyd’s Register-classed vessel was ordered by the Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat). The ship, named ‘Mozah’, is the first “Q-Max”-sized vessel with a capacity for 266,000m3, almost 80% more cargo than conventional ships. Nakilat will operate the ships on long haul routes to the US and Europe, to meet increased demand for cleaner energy products.

The Q-Max ships ? “Q” for Qatar and “Max” for the maximum size of ship able to dock at the LNG terminals in Qatar ? feature a low-speed propulsion package that is said to be more fuel- and thermally-efficient than the steam turbines that have previously been employed in large LNG carriers, resulting in about a 30% reduction in overall emissions. The economies of scale inherent in the larger comparative load capacity are expected to reduce shipping costs ? which typically have accounted for about one-third of the price for LNG — by about 30%.

Lloyd?s Register says that 39% of the existing LNG fleet is under its class, a proportion that is destined to grow with the delivery of the new Q-Maxes in the next two years. In all, 14 Q-Max and 31 of the smaller Q-Flex-sized LNG ships have been ordered from the big three Korean shipbuilders by Qatari interests and their partners, 17 of which will be built to Lloyd?s Register class.