Tag: LNG carriers

The International Transport Workers’ Federation has raised concerns about Flag-of-Convenience (FOC) vessels transporting highly dangerous cargoes around Australia’s coast and Great Barrier Reef. The first consignment of liquefied natural gas was transported out of Gladstone aboard a BG Group-chartered, FOC tanker called the Methane Rita Andrea. FOC ships are notorious for breaching safety and environmental codes internationally and are utilised by companies in an attempt to flout environmental, safety, labour and tax regulations worldwide. Two serious incidents occurred with FOC vessels off the UK coast: The Cemjford, a concrete carrier, sunk of the Scottish coast with all eight crew presumed dead. Meanwhile 25 crewmembers had a lucky escape when the FOC car carrier they were sailing on, the Hoegh Osaka, run aground between Southampton and the Isle of Wight. ITF Australia Coordinator Dean Summers said it was reckless that governments, in Australia and elsewhere, would allow this practice to continue in light of dangerous incidents that occur everyday. “LNG is possibly one of the most volatile substances that can be shipped and to ship gas out of Gladstone these vessels have to negotiate the Great Barrier Reef, yet we entrust this task to ships flagged in places like Liberia,” Summers ...

Sailing Route from the Cove Point LNG Project   TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.   announced that the company has concluded a basic agreement on a time charter contract for a newbuilding LNG carrier with Tokyo LNG Tanker Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. At the same time, MOL signed a contract with Japan Marine United Corporation  for construction of the new vessel. This is the third new vessel MOL will manage, following two other newbuilding LNG carriers sailing under contract with Tokyo LNG Tanker and built by JMU. These ships were launched on February 28 and November 28, 2014. The third vessel will also transport LNG from the Cove Point LNG Project in the United States to Tokyo Gas facilities. MOL is involved in operating 11 of 14 LNG carriers owned and managed by Tokyo LNG Tanker, including this newbuilding vessel, and directly manages eight of those 11 ships. To realize "solid growth through innovative changes," as set forth in the company's midterm management plan STEER FOR 2020, MOL continues to take a proactive stance in offering safe and stable transport of LNG by drawing on its extensive experience, know-how, and network as the world leader in ...

BG Group, a world leader in exploration and LNG, has entered into an agreement with GasLog Ltd for them to acquire two modern tri-fuel diesel electric (“TFDE”) LNG carriers for proceeds of $460 million. BG Group will charter back the two vessels, the Methane Becki Anne and Methane Julia Louise, for nine and eleven years with further options to extend the term for each vessel by either three or five years. The transactions provide BG Group with flexibility in managing its future fleet requirements and, as the ships are currently managed by GasLog, leave day to day operations broadly unchanged. The LNG carriers are currently associated with a Pension Funding Partnership which is one element of the Group’s funding arrangements for the BG Pension Scheme. Consequently the majority of the proceeds from this sale will be utilised to support the funding of that scheme. The remaining net proceeds from the transaction of around $100m will be used to reduce the Group’s net debt. Closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the completion of definitive documentation. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015, with the charter agreement expected to commence ...

APT 2 Start of Construction ceremony General Dynamics NASSCO signaled the start of construction of a second “ECO” tanker to be built for American Petroleum Tankers at a steel cutting ceremony at NASSCO’s San Diego-based shipyard. U.S. Rep. Scott Peters signaled the beginning of construction by pressing a button to cut the first piece of steel. NASSCO began construction on the first tanker in September 2014. As part of a five-tanker contract, the new ECO tankers solidify a mutual commitment between General Dynamics NASSCO and American Petroleum Tankers to design, build and operate innovative and increased energy-efficient and fuel-saving products. Each of the five 50,000 deadweight ton product carriers will be LNG-conversion ready and will hold a 330,000 barrel cargo capacity. With a specialized ECO design, the tankers are more energy efficient and incorporate environmental protection features, including a Ballast Water Treatment System. “NASSCO is providing our customers with some of the most energy-efficient, fuel-saving, and cost-effective tankers in the world,” said Kevin Graney, vice president and general manager of General Dynamics NASSCO. “The construction of the first tanker for American Petroleum Tankers is well underway at NASSCO and we are pleased to begin construction on a second tanker for ...

On 16 December a naming ceremony was held for the LNG carrier SCF Melampus, the third tanker in a series of vessels to be built under a partnership agreement between Sovcomflot and the shipyard STX Offshore & Shipbuilding. The first two tankers of the series, Velikiy Novgorod and Pskov, have already been put into operation on long-term contracts with Gazprom, with the design of SCF Melampus a continuation of this project. These ships have been constructed to adhere to all requirements of the charterer on ecological safety and energy effectiveness. Atlanticmax LNG carriers have a load capacity of 170,200 cubic metres and are equipped with triple-fuel diesel electric power generation systems. The ships have the enforced ice class ‘Ice2’ and are designed to operate at low temperatures and in harsh climatic conditions. LNG carriers of this type are able to transport gas from the majority of existing export terminals. Sovcomflot will receive the fourth LNG carrier in the series, SCF Mitre, in the second quarter of 2015. Sovcomflot’s Senior Executive Vice-President Evgeniy Ambrosov commented: “Gas transportation is a strategic priority for the development of Sovcomflot, whose specialists have the required experience and expertise in LNG shipping. SCF Group and Royal ...

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (“K” Line) announced the signing of a long-term Time Charter contract for a new 164,700m3 Moss type (independent spherical tank) LNG carrier that has been concluded with Chubu Electric Power (Chubu Electric). “K” Line has also executed separate Shipbuilding contract with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. (KHI).   Chubu Electric is involved in the construction as well as the operation of Freeport LNG and this new vessel will engage in the transport of LNG from the project located in State of Texas in the United States. “K” Line already executed previous long-term Time Charter contract for a vessel having identical specifications with Chubu Electric in April 2013, and this contract for second vessel is based on subsequent contract following that for the first vessel. Source and Image Credit: "K" LineIn the outbreak, I was explicit with you propecia before and after has changed my being. It has become much more fun, and now I have to run. Just as it is fabulous to sit.

OAO Sovcomflot (SCF Group) announced that it has signed a new USD 319 million 10 year credit facility with a consortium of leading European banks with ING acting as Agent. The funds will be used towards financing two new ice-class LNG carriers SCF Melampus and SCF Mitre, which will operate on long-term contracts with the Shell Group. The new high-spec Atlanticmax Ice2 (1C) class gas carriers feature a tri-fuel engine, a cargo capacity of 170,000m³ and are equipped for operating in harsh and low temperature conditions. The vessels’ design is optimised to provide the utmost trading flexibility to their charterers, as they are able to transport LNG year round to and from most of the world’s existing LNG terminals. The project facility has a limited recourse structure and a favourable long-term tenor, as well as competitive pricing, reflecting the robustness of the deal structure, the stability of the charter hire revenue stream and cash flows, and the high credit quality of the charterer. The vessels will form part of Sovcomflot's recently established company SCF Gas Carriers Ltd., the Group’s dedicated vehicle for its expanding gas transportation business. Nikolai Kolesnikov, Senior Executive Vice-President & Chief Financial Officer, said: “We are delighted ...

Subsidiaries of Teekay LNG Partners L.P. and a wholly owned company of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell) announced that they have entered into time-charter contracts for five newbuild LNG carriers. The vessels will operate as part of Shell’s global LNG fleet under time-charters ranging in duration from six to eight years, plus extension options. Delivery of the vessels will start from the second half of 2017 into 2018. The new time-charter contracts with Shell will be serviced by five 173,400 cubic meter MEGI (M-type, Electronically Controlled, Gas Injection) engine LNG newbuildings built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd., (DSME) of South Korea. MEGI engines will be significantly more fuel-efficient and have lower emission levels than engines currently used in LNG shipping. Dr. Grahaeme Henderson, Vice President of Shell Shipping & Maritime, commented: “We are pleased to have signed this deal with a leading company like Teekay LNG, further strengthening our relationship with them. The new tonnage will give Shell’s upstream and trading operations added flexibility in taking gas to market. We look forward to welcoming these cutting-edge MEGI engine vessels into our LNG fleet which is one of the largest and most technically advanced in the world.” Mr. ...