The Malaysian shipping group MISC is planning to build five new LNG tankers in China, following the securing of a new long-term contract from Petronas. This contract includes a 20-year lease for the tankers and is expected to see them in service from 2030.
Details of the New Contract
MISC has committed to building five new tankers upon receiving a letter of establishment from Petronas LNG. This new contract adds to a previous plan that included the construction of five other tankers. MISC will enter into a construction contract with Hudong-Zhonghua, part of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation, for the construction of these vessels.
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Expansion of Tanker Construction Program
This new contract increases the number of planned tankers to ten. Initially, MISC had contracted three tankers with a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters of LNG at Hudong-Zhonghua, and in February, two more tankers were added to this program. Petronas has confirmed that the 20-year lease for all five tankers will commence from 2029 to 2030.
The MISC group continues to pursue long-term hiring agreements with Petronas by continuously expanding its ship order book. In August, the group also confirmed a smaller tanker with a capacity of 18,700 cubic meters of LNG at Hudong-Zhonghua, designated for a ten-year contract for services in trade between Bontang and Sendai.
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