Qatari LNG shipping company, Nakilat, and Hague-based LNG giant Shell have agreed to begin the planned phased transition of the management of Nakilat’s LNG fleet.
Shell’s unit, Shell International Trading and Shipping Company, has provided shipping services to Nakilat’s LNG fleet since it was established in 2006, which includes 14 Q-Max and 11 Q-Flex LNG carriers.
Under the agreement, the vessels will be transitioned in three phases, starting this year, to Nakilat’s ship management unit, Nakilat Shipping Qatar Limited (NSQL), that currently manages four LPG carriers and four Q-Flex LNG carriers, Nakilat said in a statement on Wednesday.
Studies and preparations have been carried out by Nakilat to ensure the management of the vessels.
According to Nakilat, this will be the world’s largest transition of an LNG fleet operation.
The fleet of Nakilat’s wholly-owned 25 vessels that will be transitioned to NSQL, has so far delivered over 320 million cubic meters of LNG from Qatar to over 20 countries.
The vessels have travelled 17 million nautical miles – the equivalent of over 780 trips around the equator’s circumference, Nakilat noted in the statement.
Nakilat’s current fleet stands at 63 wholly- and jointly-owned LNG carriers making it the world’s largest LNG shipping company.