COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation (CSET), the oil and gas shipping unit of COSCO Shipping Group, and Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) are teaming up for six supersize gas carrier newbuilds that will serve Middle Eastern liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer QatarEnergy.
The Chinese state-owned shipping giant will acquire a 50% stake through one of its subsidiaries in the so-called QC-Max vessels worth about $2bn in total and set to be built at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding.
COSCO had also partnered with MOL on seven 174,000 cu m vessels for QatarEnergy, winning the contract in 2022.
The vessels with a capacity of 271,000 cu m and ordered in September this year represent the largest-ever newbuilds in the LNG sector, with delivery scheduled between 2028 and 2031.
QatarEnergy has 24 QC-Max newbuilding projects booked at the CSSC-affiliated yard estimated at about $8bn. The company’s LNG shipbuilding initiative is the largest of its kind in the industry’s history, with 128 vessels booked across multiple yards in China and South Korea. Qatar already has more than 10 Q-Max units on long-term charters with a carrying capacity of around 266,000 cu m.
