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NAKILAT AND QATARGAS NAME FOUR LNG CARRIERS
Two of the vessels – “Al Hamla” and “Al Gharrafa” – will officially be named by Mrs. Elly Ghannam and Mrs. Deborah Adams respectively, at consecutive ceremonies to be held at the shipyards of Samsung Heavy Industries on Geoje Island and of Hyundai Heavy Industries in Ulsan. These vessels are owned through a joint venture between Nakilat and OSG. The other two vessels – “Duhail” and “Al Ghariya” – are the last in a series of four ships to be owned by a consortium comprising of Nakilat, Commerz Real and Pronav and will be named respectively by Mrs. Gabriele Spechtenhauser and Mrs. Carola Baader-Braun at a ceremony at Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering’s shipyard on Geoje Island. With a capacity of between 210,000 cbm and 216,000 cbm, these vessels are amongst the largest LNG carriers constructed to date and have a capacity approximately 50% larger than conventional ships. All four vessels will be used to ship LNG produced from the Qatargas 2 Train 4 project – a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil - to customers in Europe. In total, 14 ships are being built in Korea to service Qatargas Trains 4 and 5. Prior to the ceremonies, Muhammad Ghannam, Managing Director of Nakilat said: “With huge developments to produce over 77 mta of LNG and the construction of a huge fleet to transport these volumes around the world, we can produce, liquefy and transport this clean energy to our customers in an economically sound, environmentally sensitive and safe way”. James Adams, Chief Operating Officer of Qatargas 2, who will also attend the ceremonies commented: “Qatar Petroleum, Qatargas and ExxonMobil pioneered the development of the Q-Flex LNG carrier, making it possible for liquefied natural gas from Qatar to be shipped safely and economically to all corners of the world. We would like to thank each of the shipyards, our Qatargas 2 teams and everyone involved for their outstanding efforts in delivering these ships safely and on time.” He continued; “In fact, it is expected that all four vessels will be delivered without a single Lost Time Incident during their construction. This is testament to the commitment at every level to safety and what can be achieved through teamwork and commitment.”. In total, contracts have been signed for the construction of 31 Q-Flex ships, 14 Q-Max vessels and 9 conventional vessels, totalling 54 vessels, all of which will either be wholly-owned by Nakilat or through joint ventures in which Nakilat participates.
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