Nakilat to insure vessels with UK P&I Club and Gard

Nakilat is to insure the first 15 of its wholly-owned liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels with the two largest protection and indemnity (P&I) clubs in the world – Assuranceforeningen Gard and the UK P&I Club.

The move follows a detailed selection process culminating in a closed bid competitive tender by a shortlist of international P&I clubs.

Nakilat has an extensive programme with three Korean yards to build 25 new LNG carriers scheduled for delivery by 2010.

They include Q-Flex vessels and the even larger Q-Max vessels, a new generation of LNG mega-carrier. The Q-Max has 80 per cent more capacity than conventional LNG carriers with about 40 per cent lower energy requirements due to the economies of scale created by the size and the efficiency of the engines.

The Q-Max carriers are purpose-built for Nakilat. The P&I insurer for the remaining 10 vessels will be decided later.

Nakilat is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Qatar Gas Transport Company (QGTC), a Qatari listed company formed to co-ordinate the country's LNG transportation requirements. Qatar aims to become the world's largest LNG producer.

In addition to the wholly-owned ships being acquired by Nakilat, QGTC has an ownership stake – 43 per cent on average – in 29 other LNG vessels.

The number

25 : new LNG carriers, which are expected to be ready for delivery by 2010, would be built by Nakilat