Unitor Wins LNG, LPG Contracts

Unitor won contracts from Hyundai Heavy Industries Co. Ltd., worth approximately $5.65m for specialized insulation systems for LNG and LPG carriers under construction at this South Korean shipyard. Hyundai has chosen Unitor to deliver a foam insulation system for the cargo tanks on a 12,000 grt LPG carrier building for a European owner. The contract is valued in the region of $650,000. Unitor has delivered more than 70 foam in situ (molded) insulation systems for liquefied petroleum gas carriers, mainly in Europe. This is Unitor's first LPG contract with Hyundai Heavy Industries and is an important breakthrough for the company in this part of the world, which has become the center for the construction of LPG carriers, with new deliveries currently running at 20-30 vessels per year. The third 135,000m³ LNG carrier undergoing construction at Hyundai's Ulsan yard for the Nigerian National Petroleum Co. (Yard No.1429) will feature a Unitor thermal insulation system under a $5 million contract. Work on the installation of this system will start in March 2002 and will be completed by September of the same year. Unitor also supplied the thermal insulation systems to the previous two ships in this series.