This photo, provided by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., shows the K. Lotus, the world’s largest LNG bunkering vessel at 18,000 cubic meters, which the shipbuilder delivered to Korea Line Corp. at its headquarters in Ulsan, 414 km southeast of Seoul, on March 16, 2022.
SEOUL, March 22 (Korea Bizwire) — Korea Line LNG Co., a midsized South Korean shipping company, and the state-run Korea Gas Corp. (KOGAS) have launched a liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering business in collaboration with Shell Plc, Europe’s biggest oil firm.
The two companies announced on Monday that they had taken delivery of the LNG bunkering ship K.LOTUS from the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard and chartered it to Shell.
The two companies received a bunkering ship charter deal from Shell in 2019 and established the joint venture KLBV 1 in 2020 to sign a shipbuilding contract with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co.
Korea Line LNG has a 60 percent stake in the joint venture and is responsible for ship management and operation. With a 40 percent stake, KOGAS is responsible for the operation of the joint venture.
K.LOTUS will be assigned for a long-term charter deal with Shell for up to seven years. It will supply LNG fuel to ships at major European ports, centered on the port of Rotterdam.
Korea Line LNG plans to secure LNG bunkering track records for various ships through the contract with Shell.
The company plans to add five more LNG carriers and bunkering ships by 2023, bringing its fleet up to a total of 18 vessels.
J. S. Shin (js_shin@koreabizwire.com)
