MISC Expands LNG Carrier Program for Petronas to Ten Vessels
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Malaysian shipping company MISC accepted a letter of award from Petronas LNG for five new LNG carriers under firm 20-year charter agreements. The vessels will be built at the Chinese shipyard Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, and are scheduled to enter service starting in 2030.
Doubling the program to ten vessels
This new order adds to a previous program of five vessels agreed earlier this year, bringing the total number of LNG carriers ordered by MISC from Hudong-Zhonghua for Petronas to ten units. According to sources, MISC had initially contracted three 174,000 m3 LNG carriers, later adding two more in February, and Petronas subsequently confirmed the 20-year charter for those five vessels, with operations expected to begin between 2029 and 2030.
Gas fleet expansion
MISC has been steadily expanding its gas carrier portfolio through long-term charter agreements with Petronas. In August, the company had also confirmed the construction of a smaller, 18,700 m3 LNG carrier at Hudong-Zhonghua, intended for a ten-year contract on the Bintulu–Sendai route.
State-of-the-art vessels
The new 174,000 m3 LNG carriers belong to the fifth-generation "Changheng" series developed by Hudong-Zhonghua, which incorporates low-carbon and energy-saving technologies. According to the Chinese outlet CNSS, these vessels use the NO96 Super+ containment system and feature an internationally leading Energy Efficiency Design Index (EEDI), with reductions of more than 10 tonnes per day in carbon emissions per voyage.
Trade News, which also covered the announcement, identified Zahid Osman as MISC's chief executive officer in a photograph accompanying its report, without specifying his specific involvement in this new charter agreement.
