Nakilat Adds Three New LNG Vessels to Its Fleet

Nakilat of Qatar has added three new LNG vessels to its fleet through its joint venture Maran Nakilat, which has closed US $807.4m of refinancing provided by Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) and Barwa Bank.

The refinancing deal was signed during a ceremony held in Doha on Tuesday 22nd April and attended by senior representatives from Nakilat, QIB and Barwa Bank . The contracts were signed by Eng. Abdullah Fadhalah Al Sulaiti, Managing Director of Nakilat, on behalf Nakilat; Bassel Gamal, QIB Group CEO, on behalf of QIB ; and Khalid Al Subeai, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Barwa Bank , on behalf of Barwa Bank .

The three new LNG carriers will be added to Maran Nakilat Co. Ltd., Nakilat’s joint venture with Greek shipping company Maran Ventures Inc. These new vessels increase the joint venture’s total fleet from eight vessels to 11 and will be used in international trade, growing Nakilat’s LNG fleet from 58 vessels to 61, and expanding Nakilat’s total fleet — including both LNG and LPG carriers — from 62 vessels to 65.

Maran Nakilat Co. Ltd. has grown its fleet’s capacity over three different stages. The initial fleet of four vessels had a cargo capacity of 580 thousand cubic-meters. The expanded fleet of 11 vessels now has a cumulative capacity of 1.7 million cubic meters. In June 2013 Nakilat also increased its ownership of the joint venture from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.

[mappress]