Maran Nakilat Orders 2 New Tri-Fuel LNG Carriers

Maran Nakilat has ordered two new LNG carriers, both with tri-fuel diesel electric propulsion systems.

Qatar Gas Transport Company Ltd. (Nakilat) has announced that its jointly owned company with Maran Ventures Inc. (Maran), Maran Nakilat Co. Ltd. (Maran Nakilat), has ordered two newbuild liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, both equipped with tri-fuel diesel electric (TFDE) propulsion systems.

The two new "state-of-the-art" vessels have capacities of 161,870 cubic metres (cbm) and 174,000 cbm respectively, said Nakilat.

Currently under construction in South Korea, the two ships are said to be expected for delivery during the third and fourth quarters of this year. 

With the addition of the newbuilds, Nakilat's fleet of LNG and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) ships will grow to 67, including both partially and wholly owned vessels.

"Nakilat's strong financial performance has allowed us to increase our fleet size further," said Abdullah Al Sulaiti managing director of Nakilat.

"Selecting strong partners in the shipping industry has been fundamental to Nakilat's success, and our relationship with Maran continues to be reinforced since our first agreement in 2005."

John Angelicoussis of Maran, commenting on the new order, said "we are extremely pleased to strengthen our relationship with Nakilat by this further expansion of Maran Nakilat."

"We are very proud of our association with Nakilat and look forward to working closely together in the future with their highly professional team in order to explore and develop opportunities in the LNG space."

In December, Nakilat said that the implementation of emission control area (ECA) regulations have pushed LNG to the forefront of marine fuel.