Vessel pair destined to be part of QatarEnergy’s LNG fleet gets naming ceremony out of the way

December 4, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Japan’s maritime transport player, Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), has confirmed a naming ceremony for two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipbuilding facility.

According to K Line, a joint venture company held a naming ceremony for two 174,000-cubic meter (cbm) LNG vessels for QatarEnergy on December 3, 2025. The first ship was named Sharq by the wife of Yukikazu Myochin, Director and Chairperson of the Japanese firm’s board.

The second vessel was named Shra’Ouh by the wife of Takaya Soga, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha. The name of the first ship is derived from the name of an eastern city of Qatar, and the second one is derived from the name of an island in the Persian Gulf state.

These vessels are the seventh and eighth of a series of 12 LNG vessels that the joint venture companies have been building for QatarEnergy. Sharq is the first of three vessels in this series to be managed by K Line.

The newbuilding vessels are equipped with X-DF 2.1 iCER, which will contribute to the reduction of GHG emissions and realize the ease of environmental impact by lower fuel consumption in operation.

QatarEnergy’s historic LNG fleet expansion program encompasses 128 vessels, including 24 QC-Max size LNG vessels, forming part of its efforts to boost its role on the global LNG scene.

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The naming ceremony comes shortly after K Line confirmed the delivery of a liquefied carbon dioxide (LCO2) carrier to Northern Lights, a joint venture (JV) encompassing three European oil majors: Shell, Equinor, and TotalEnergies.