Nakilat, the shipping arm of Qatar’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, has taken over full ship management and operations of Q-Max liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier Mekaines from Shell Trading and Shipping Company Ltd. (STASCo) with effect from November 7.
Mekaines is the second Q-Max vessel that will come under the management of Nakilat Shipping Qatar Ltd. (NSQL) this year as part of the planned and phased transition agreed in October, bringing the total number of vessels managed by NSQL to 10, comprising of 6 LNG and 4 LPG carriers.
With a cargo carrying capacity of 266,476 cubic meters, Mekaines is wholly-owned by Nakilat and chartered by Qatargas.
Built in South Korea by Samsung Heavy Industries, the vessel was delivered in March 2009 and has been in service ever since.
Mozah was the first Q-Max LNG carrier to be transitioned under the agreement in late October. Chartered by Qatargas, the vessel, which has a cargo carrying capacity of 266,000 cubic meters, was delivered to the company in July 2008.
Under the agreement between NSQL and Shell, a total of 25 LNG vessels will be transferred from Shell, including fourteen Q-Max and eleven Q-Flex LNG carriers.
Nakilat said that this transition, which will be conducted in three phases, will be “the world’s largest transition of an LNG fleet operation.”