QGTC Awarded Charters for Six LNG Carriers

Qatar Gas Transport Company Ltd. (Nakilat) announced that it has been awarded 25 year time charters by Qatar Liquefied Gas Company Limited (II), (QGII) for six 'QMax' LNG carriers of approximately 265,000 cubic meters carrying capacity each. These will be the largest LNG carriers ever constructed. According to AME Info, the ships will be ordered from Korean shipyards Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and Samsung Heavy Industries. QGII intends to use the vessels to transport LNG from its train numbers 4 and 5, which will each have a production of 7.8 million tons/year. The vessels- once delivered from the shipyards- will be placed on long term charter to QGII beginning mid-2008, and their delivered cost will be approximately $300 million each. In addition to these six ships which QGTC will own 100%, the company has 30-60% equity interest in another 28 LNG ships delivered or on order to service Qatar LNG projects. (Source: AME Info)