Proman Shipping Names Its Largest Vessel Yet

South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) hosted a naming ceremony for a 52,000-tonne methanol carrier being built for Japanese shipowner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL).

Image Courtesy: MOL

The vessel was named Castara by Methanol Holdings (Trinidad) Limited, which together with Proman Shipping, are part of Switzerland-headquartered natural gas provider Proman Group, the vessel’s charterer.

“The Castara is Proman Shipping’s first 50,000 dwt vessel and will become the largest vessel in the Proman Shipping fleet. This milestone is testament to our valued and long-term partnership with MOL. While Proman Shipping was only launched in March of this year, Proman and MHTL have a long history with MOL going back to 1995,”  David Cassidy, Chief Executive of Proman Group said.

“During this time, we have diversified our products and expanded our reach – from Europe and the US initially, we now ship globally, to Brazil, China, and right here to South Korea, and we look forward to growing further.” 

 “Methanol trade is as dynamic as the shipping industry is and we are observing changes in its trading pattern in recent years. Even the changes are surrounding us, I am confident that the new vessel, with most advanced design, will remain playing vital role in our fleet, transporting methanol,” Masato Koike, Managing Executive Officer of MOL said.

The MR2 combination tanker which can also transport petrochemical products was ordered by MOL in 2015, according to the data from VesselsValue. The 186.7 meter-long vessel is scheduled to be delivered to the owners in January next year.

Wollerau-based Proman Shipping AG was established in March 2018 and provides maritime expertise, commercial vessel management and global ocean transportation to the Proman Group of companies. The company manages a fleet of 12 time-chartered chemical tankers.