A naming ceremony was held at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co for the 174,000-m3 LNG carrier LNG Merak, jointly ordered by Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited
The second of four newbuilds for Russia’s Yamal LNG project, LNG Merak has an overall length of 295 m, beam of 45 m and draught of 11.5 m, with a GTT No96 membrane cargo containment system.
In a press statement, MOL said, “By taking advantage of close co-operation with Hudong and our combined experience, the construction of LNG Merak processed smoothly.”
Built to Lloyd’s Register classification rules and managed by MOL LNG Transport (Europe) Ltd, LNG Merak will transport Yamal LNG’s cargoes from transhipment terminals in Europe to LNG terminals in Asia. The vessel will be the 12th LNG carrier built in China to be operated by MOL.
LNG Merak’s sister vessel, LNG Dubhe, was delivered by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in October. Subsequent vessels in the series, LNG Pheoda and LNG Megnez will be delivered in 2020.
Operated by JSC Yamal LNG and based on the Yamal Peninsula above the Arctic Circle, the Yamal LNG plant has been producing LNG over nameplate production capacity – 16.5 mta. More than 25 mta of LNG has now been shipped since the start-up of Train 1 in December 2017 and it has cumulatively dispatched more than 340 cargoes. Stakeholders in the project are led by Novatek with a 50.1% interest, Total 20%, CNPC 20% and the Silk Road Fund with 9.9%.
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