Japanese shipowner NYK Line has inked a long-term charter agreement with compatriot trading giant Mitsubishi Corp to back an on-order LNG carrier newbuilding.
Local media reports said NYK has signed the deal with Mitsubishi’s Singapore-based subsidiary Diamond Gas International (DGI) on a vessel that is under construction at South Korea’s Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.
The 174,000-cbm vessel is due to be handed over in the second half of 2026.
Contract terms have yet to emerge.
This looks set to be the seventh LNG carrier that NYK will supply to DGI to ship the cargoes its parent has bought from the US and Canada.
Mitsubishi has signed up to buy volumes from Sempra Energy’s 12 million tonnes per annum Cameron LNG project in the US and it is expected that the vessel will join the trader’s fleet to lift these cargoes.
The Japanese trading giant and NYK, through joint venture Japan LNG Investment, have a 16.6% stake in the project, which is in the process of a Phase 2 expansion that will see a fourth liquefaction train built.
Working with Malaysia’s MISC Berhad and DGI, NYK also owns two LNG carriers that will lift Mitsubishi’s volumes from the Shell-led LNG Canada project.
NYK has been ploughing cash into LNG carrier newbuildings in the past 12 months.
The company, which is targeting LNG as a core business, has built up an orderbook of 28 vessels, according to Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network.
NYK contracted nine LNG newbuildings at HD Hyundai group yards in the first half of 2023. Most recently the company ordered two ships at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.
Hyundai Samho said in an exchange announcement that it had secured a contract for two vessels priced at over $261m each for delivery dates in 2027.
Those following the company indicated that there are additional LNG newbuilding contracts in the works.
This year NYK snatched the charter contracts for a quartet of LNG carrier newbuildings tendered for by Germany's EnBW Energie Baden-Wurttemberg.
The shipowner also has on-order LNG carrier tonnage contracted against charters with EDF Energy and Novatek.
In addition, NYK has signed up in partnership with K Line, MISC and China LNG Shipping for 12 LNG carriers under the first phase of QatarEnergy’s huge newbuilding project.
