Marubeni Corporation (Marubeni) in collaboration with SK Shipping Co., Ltd. (SK Shipping) has concluded long-term charter contracts of LNG carriers for a UK subsidiary of the French Oil Major, Total S.A. (Total). With a loading capacity of 180,000 m3, the ships will be the largest LNG carriers which are enabled to pass the Panama Canal after the planned expansion in 2015.
Marubeni and SK Shipping, by collectively establishing Joint Ship Owning Companies, have signed shipbuilding contracts with Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., charter contracts with Total, and loan agreements with several financial institutions. The ships are scheduled for delivery by January, 2017 and October, 2017 respectively; afterwards, they will be hired for 30 years at maximum by Total under the ownership and management by the J/V Companies.
Each of the two ships will be engaged in the transportation of LNG from the separate projects: the Australian Ichthys LNG project in which some other Japanese corporations participate, and the Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project where the USA’s shale-gas will be transformed into LNG for the first time.
Marubeni’s co-owner SK Shipping possesses the long history and experiences of ownership and operation of a number of LNG carriers as one of the leading Korean shipping companies.
With the current co-ownership of fourteen LNG carriers, Marubeni is devoted to expanding the LNG transportation business by placing focus on the development of the shale-gas driven LNG sector.
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Marubeni, April 15, 2013; Image: SHI