Chinese player hands over first of three LNG newbuilds for QatarEnergy’s growing fleet

China LNG Shipping (Holdings) Limited has delivered a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier to Qatar’s state-owned energy giant QatarEnergy.

According to China LNG Shipping’s social media post, Al Tuwar was the first of the three 174,000-cubic-meter Q-Flex LNG carriers to be delivered to its charterer, QatarEnergy LNG Marketing, on May 16, 2025.

“Sincere thanks and appreciation to everyone involved in this project. The team in our office, the site team in the shipyard, the newbuild delivery team, the officers and ratings sailing onboard, our manning/crewing partners, Hudong Shipyard, American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), the local port agents and suppliers too numerous to mention,” said China LNG Shipping.

This comes a month after the Chinese firm held a naming ceremony for the vessel together with its joint venture partners NYK, K Line, and MISC Berhad.

According to NYK, Al Tuwar is equipped with the X-DF 2.1 iCER engine, a dual-fuel engine that uses fuel oil and boil-off gas as fuel. It also features a reliquefaction device that uses surplus boil-off gas, reportedly reducing greenhouse gases (GHG).

Its sister ship, Al Mas’habiyyah, is scheduled for delivery on July 30, 2025.

QatarEnergy’s fleet expansion program, which includes 128 vessels, registered several milestones in recent months. In March, Hanwha Ocean hosted a steel-cutting ceremony for eight new LNG carriers being built for the Qatari giant.

Before that, Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) held a naming ceremony for an LNG carrier at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding shipyard in China. Named Limail after what MOL says is a picturesque region in Qatar, the vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2027.