Doha: Nakilat, the giant Qatari LNG vessel owner, is looking to bolster its fleet as well as raise its stake in Greece’s Maran Gas. Nakilat is already the Middle East’s largest shipowner by fleet value, according to statistics by VesselsValue.com.
Nakilat managing director Abdullah Fadhalah Al Sulaiti told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that Nakilat is expected to grow its fleet to 58 carriers by the end of this year.
He said part of the strategy was increasing the company’s stake in Maran Gas from 10 percent to 40 percent, with four new carriers worth $900m to be delivered to the Maran Gas fleet in 2014.
Al Sulaiti said Nakilat was also holding talks with a number of European and Asian countries.
“The LNG global market is at a promising phase, something that encourages Nakilat to look for investment opportunities outside Qatar in order to achieve more added value to the company and its shareholders,” he was quoted as saying. [30/03/14]
