Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has signed up for two newbuild 174,000 cu m liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers at South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME).
The dual-fuel ships come with a price tag of around $213m each and are set for delivery in the second and third quarter of 2026. Multiple shipbrokers reported the newbuilds are an option that MOL held at Korean shipbuilder from a last-year order.
Last September, MOL booked four 174,000 cu m vessels at DSME fixed to Novatek Gas & Power Asia, a subsidiary of Russia’s PAO Novatek. The quartet is slated for delivery in 2024. In January, the shipowner was also widely tipped to be behind a single LNG carrier order at DSME for its charter with compatriot trading house Mitsui & Co.
Earlier this month, MOL also announced that it had signed a long-term charter contract for four LNG carrier newbuildings with QatarEnergy. These ships will be built by CSSC-affiliated Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding and are part of Qatar’s first batch of charter deals awarded under its massive shipbuilding program.
