Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL, President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda) announced that on 20 October, a naming ceremony for a LNG carrier, jointly ordered by MOL and China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited (China COSCO Shipping), was held at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. (Hudong).

The vessel is the last of four newbuilding conventional LNG Carriers for the Yamal LNG Project announced at the end of June 2017*1, and was named "LNG MEGREZ" after a star in the constellation Ursa Major.

MOL has been operating 14 LNG carriers built in China for other projects, and LNG PHECDA will become the 15th LNG carrier built there to join our fleet. For the construction of the four newbuilding conventional LNG Carriers for the Yamal LNG Project, MOL assigned technical experts to Hudong to form a shipbuilding supervision team made up of approximately 40 members. For the first three vessels, MOL accomplished their construction either earlier or by the original schedule.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been taking place during the construction of LNG MEGREZ, she is expected to be delivered from the shipyard in a timely manner as originally planned, despite the safety measures which have had to be taken to mitigate the dangers of the pandemic.

With these carriers, MOL will continue to work assiduously to provide a safe and stable LNG transportation service from the Yamal LNG plant. MOL will continue to be proactive in acquiring new projects, utilizing its strong working relationship with China COSCO Shipping and Hudong*2, and leveraging its knowledge and experience in international cooperative works.

Source: Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd.