New LNG carrier joins Shell’s fleet

LNG carrier Murex (Image courtesy of Shell)

Shell International Trading and Shipping Co. Ltd, a unit of the Hague-based energy giant, has marked 125 years of shipping heritage by naming its latest liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier in honour of its first ever oil tanker, the Murex.

The new Murex joined Shell’s technically managed fleet last week.

The 173,000-cbm vessel is one of five new LNG carriers that Shell will welcome from their owners, subsidiaries of Teekay LNG Partners by mid-2018, Shell said in a statement on Thursday.

In a separate statement announcing the company’s third-quarter results, Teekay LNG said that in October and November, the shipping company took delivery of two LNG newbuildings, the Macoma and Murex. The vessels are on charter to Shell for a period of six and seven years, respectively, plus extension options, Teekay LNG added.

These vessels are powered by M-type, electronically controlled, gas injection (MEGI) engines, which are more fuel efficient than other engine types used in LNG shipping, producing fewer emissions.

Shell said it currently manages around 40 LNG carriers and has over 50 on time charter, which collectively is around 20% of the global LNG fleet.

The Murex and her four sister vessels joining Shell’s LNG fleet are technically managed by Shell International Trading and Shipping Co. Ltd. and are on time-charter to Shell Tankers (Singapore) Private Ltd.

The original coal-powered Murex was launched in 1892 and was the first oil tanker to pass through the Suez Canal. The vessel was named after a sea shell, a practice that remains for Shell vessels to this day, the company noted in the statement.