MOL Orders Four LNG Carriers for NOVATEK Charter

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) on Tuesday announced it has ordered four new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers from South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co., Ltd. (DSME) for delivery in 2024.

The Japanese shipping company said it has signed time charter contracts for the four newbuilds with NOVATEK Gas & Power Asia Pte. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Russia's PAO NOVATEK.

The 174,000-cubic-meter capacity newbuilds will be equipped with the "cutting-edge" MAN Energy Solutions engines, which offer improved fuel efficiency, MOL said. They will also adopt a new design that generates less boil-off gas from cargo tanks through the use of the reliquefaction unit on board, and a shaft generator system that uses the rotating propeller shaft for power generation, the company added.

(Image: MOL)