As the global liquefied natural gas market expands rapidly, the fleet of LNG tankers continues to experience tremendous growth. According to the International Gas Union, at the end of 2012, the LNG fleet consisted of 362 vessels of all types.
LNG World News will every week introduce five LNG tankers, which serve one or several LNG terminals around the world. The LNG tankers will be presented in an alphabetical order.
1) Aamira
Pictured above, the 266,000 cbm Aamira, built by Samsung Heavy Industries in 2010, is one of the largest LNG tankers, and it is sailing for the world’s largest LNG producer – Qatargas. It is a membrane type Q-Max LNG tanker.
2) Abadi
The 135,000 cbm spherical type LNG tanker, operated by Shell Brunei, was built in 2008 by South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. The vessel mostly transports LNG from Brunei to the world’s largest LNG importer Japan.
3) Abdelkader
On February 26 in 2009, the 177,000 cbm Abdelkader, co-owned by MOL and Itochu, was completed at the Hyundai Heavy Industries Ulsan Shipyard in South Korea. MOL oversees ship management of the vessel and transport of LNG, mainly to Japan.
4) Al Aamriya
The 210,168 cbm Al Aamriya was built in 2008 by Daewoo of South Korea. It is a membrane type Q-Flex LNG tanker, operated by K-Line, and it mainly transports LNG from Qatar to Japan.
5) Al Areesh
This membrane type LNG tanker was built in 2007 by Daewoo in South Korea and it transports LNG from Qatar’s Port of Ras Laffan to various terminals in the world. The Al Areesh is operated by Teekay LNG, and it has a storage capacity of 148,786 cbm.
[mappress] LNG World News Staff, December 17, 2013; Image: Qatargas