Singapore-based Kumiai Navigation has ordered a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)-fuelled 86,700 cu m very large gas carrier (VLGC) at Japanese shipbuilder Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) for delivery in 2025.
No price has been revealed for the 230 m long vessel that will be delivered from KHI’s Sakaide Works and be able to carry LPG and liquefied ammonia gas in separate cargo tanks at the same time.
Fueled by low-sulfur fuel oil and LPG, the newbuild will meet the latest SOx emission standards set by the International Maritime Organization and EEDI Phase 3 regulations. Similar vessels have been ordered at KHI by Japanese owners Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), K Line, and Eneos for entry into the market in 2023 and 2024. This will be the seventh LPG/NH3 carrier to be constructed by Kawasaki Heavy.
The shipowner is a subsidiary of Japan’s Kumiai Senpaku which currently has a fleet of six VLGCs, two small LPG carriers, and 12 bulkers. In addition to the latest KHI order, the company has one 84,000 cu m VLGC set to deliver from the same shipyard this year and one ultramax bulker under construction at Oshima Shipbuilding, slated for delivery in early 2023.
