Looking to expand its fleet of LNG carriers, GAIL (India) on Friday said it has signed a long-term time charter contract with Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K-LINE) through the ship-owning company established in Singapore for a new-built LNG ship.

K-LINE has 40 years of expertise in LNG transportation.

The LNG ship will be a modern two-stroke vessel with a tank capacity of 1,74,000 cubic metres. It will be built by Samsung Heavy Industries, Korea, with which the Ship Owning Company has concluded a shipbuilding contract.

This is the first long-term charter contract between GAIL and K-LINE involving a newly built vessel. The vessel is expected to be used in the transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for GAIL in 2027.

GAIL currently has four LNG vessels, GAIL Bhuwan, GAIL Urja, Grace Emilia, and Maran Gas Pericles, to transport natural gas in a supercooled form. Two more ships, including one new-built vessel on long-term charter, are expected to join the fleet next year.

GAIL has a diversified sourcing portfolio of over 15 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), which includes supply sources from various geographies on FOB and DES basis. The company’s LNG fleet is deployed to lift volumes contracted on a FOB basis, primarily from the North American region, and is transported to meet domestic and international customers’ demands.

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