ADNOC L&S JV bids welcome to inaugural eco-friendly dual-fuel VLEC

August 15, 2025, by Sara Kosmajac

AW Shipping, a joint venture company between ADNOC L&S and Wanhua Chemical, has welcomed the 98,000 cbm Gas Yongjiang, the inaugural unit out of nine very large ethane carriers (VLECs) under construction at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard.

As disclosed, Gas Yongjiang—described as one of the ‘world’s largest’ ethane carriers featuring energy-efficient dual-fuel engines—was delivered on August 14, and is now set to begin operations under a 20-year time charter agreement.

It is understood that the remaining eight vessels are due to be turned over between 2025 and 2027.

Against the backdrop of the ethane carrier’s delivery, ADNOC L&S also received Al Reef, the third of six liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, also booked at Jiangnan Shipyard. The first of these future-fit units, the Al Shelila, was handed over at the end of November last year, while the second one, christened Al Rahba, was delivered in May 2025.

Speaking about the occasion, Abdulkareem Al Masabi, Chairman of AW Shipping and CEO of ADNOC L&S, highlighted that the delivery of the environmentally friendly, dual-fuel very large ethane carrier marked a “significant milestone” in the company’s fleet expansion plans, particularly in terms of entering the global ethane shipping market and ‘strengthening’ the position within the Asian markets.

To remind, AW Shipping awarded shipbuilding contracts valued at around a staggering $1.9 billion to Jiangnan Shipbuilding for the construction of nine VLECs and two 93,0000 cbm very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) in July 2024.

At the time, representatives of ADNOC L&S revealed that this was “the largest order of the joint venture”, which was founded in 2020.

The ammonia carriers are also being hailed as ‘the biggest’ of their type in the world. The construction work of the first vessel began in April this year. This took place on the heels of the launch of Gas Yongjiang.

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