QatarEnergy has signed a deal with a joint venture between Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines ( MOL ) and China’s Cosco Shipping LNG Investment ( Shanghai ) ( CSLNG ) to own and operate six new QC-Max liquefied natural gas carriers ( LNGCs ).

The six vessels are to be built in China by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Group, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corp ( CSSC ). They form the last batch of the 128 LNGCs ordered by QatarEnergy under its huge shipbuilding programme.

The programme comprises 104 conventional and 24 QC-Max ultra-modern vessels. The new orders support expansion projects, as well as the replacement requirements of some of the existing fleet.

The MOL-CSLNG joint venture have already entered into long-term time charter party ( TCP ) agreements with QatarEnergy for seven conventional LNG vessels in 2022. This gives the joint venture a total of 13 long-term TCPs under QatarEnergy’s LNG fleet expansion programme.