[LNG Prime/ December 22, 2023] South Korea’s Hanwha Ocean hosted a naming ceremony for a new LNG carrier it built for owner Japan’s MOL and charterer India’s GAIL.

The naming ceremony for the 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, Gail Urja, took place on December 19 at Hanwha Ocean’s Okpo yard, according to a statement by MOL.

MOL said this is the company’s second LNG carrier which will serve India’s largest gas utility and will also transport US LNG volumes.

Last year, GAIL started using a newbuild LNG carrier it chartered from MOL to ship its US contracted volumes to India. In December 2022, MOL and GAIL signed the charter deal for the second vessel saying the contract would start in 2023. Following delivery, the 294.9 meters long Gail Urja will head towards US for its first loading, MOL said.

The vessel will be engaged mainly in LNG transport from North America to India. MOL’s huge fleet of LNG carriers continues to expand and the Japanese shipping giant currently has more than 30 LNG vessels on order.

The firm had 97 LNG carriers in its fleet as of September 30 this year, three more vessels compared to the prior quarter. MOL expects that it will have 99 LNG carriers in its fleet by the end of March next year. This includes LNG carriers owned and/or operated by joint venture companies.