The Japanese utility has acquired40% stakes in Trans Pacific Shipping 1 Ltd (TPS1) and Trans PacificShipping 2 Ltd (TPS2).
Each company owns one 153,000-cbmLNG carrier newbuilding which was contracted in 2012 on the back of long termcharter contracts from Chubu.
Both companies were originallyset up as joint ventures between each of the two shipowners and trading houseMitsubishi Corp on a 50:50 basis.
Underthe new arrangement Chubu and Mitsubishi will each retain a 40% stake in bothTPS1 and TPS2, while NYK and MOL will hold the remaining 20% respectively.
Both ships will be used to ship LNG from Australiato Japan under a 15 contract in the case of the NYK ship and 20 for the MOL tanker.
Both ships are under construction at MitsubishiHeavy Industries to its Sayaendo design,which uses a peapod-shaped cover designed to increase fuel efficiency.
