Tokyo: Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha’s (K Line) will fix an LNG carrier on charter to Mitsui & Co for 25 years. The 178,000 cu m membrane-type ship, to be built at Imabari Shipbuilding, will be deployed at Mitsui’s Cameron LNG export project in the US.
The vessel will be equipped with an electronically- controlled dual fuel gas injection diesel engine. This is the eighth and final ship Mitsui has contracted to ship the American gas exports, most of which will head to Japan.
A dramatic growth in its LNG fleet forms a key plank in K Line’s new mid-term management plan announced at the start of March. The aim is to run a fleet of 61 LNG carriers by the end of fiscal 2019, up from the current 43. These figures include LNG carriers it co-owns.