Nakilat and Qatargas name largest carriers

Nakilat and vessel charterer Qatargas Operating Company have announced the naming of 10 of the world's largest LNG carriers at South Korea's biggest shipyards.

Three Q-Flex vessels were named on February 6 at Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan. The first ship, Al Rekayyat, was named by Asma Ali Al Khulaifi, spouse of Ahmed Al Khulaifi, CEO, Commercial and Shipping Group, Qatargas.

The second vessel, Al Kharaitiyat, was named by Lucy Rowland, spouse of Martin Rowland, Director, Joint Ventures, Nakilat. The third ship, Mesaimeer, was named by Kathryn Turner, member of the board of directors of ConocoPhillips. A second ceremony was to take place yesterday at Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard on Geoje Island where four LNG carriers, one Q-Flex and three Q-Max ships were to be named. The third ceremony will take place on Wednesday at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co Ltd shipyard, also on Geoje Island, where three more Q-Flexs will be named.

"There is global demand for cleaner sources of energy and Qatar LNG will bring the benefits of energy diversity to our customers. The Q-Max vessels are the largest in the world and this scale advantage allows Qatargas to supply and compete in new markets worldwide," said Faisal Al Suwaidi, CEO, Qatargas.

Muhammad Ghannam, Managing Director, Nakilat, said his company had achieved many important milestones since its shipbuilding programme started a few years ago.

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