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State-run natural gas firm GAIL (India) Ltd has chartered a newly built liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier from Japan’s NYK Line to transport gas sourced from the United States (USA).
GAIL and NYK Line signed a multi-year time charter contract for the LNG carrier ‘Grace Emilia’ in an online ceremony on December 20, NYK Line said without disclosing the rate at which the carrier was hired. The ship was built this year at the yard of South Korea’s Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries Co Ltd and flies the Bahamas flag.
The carrier has a 1,74,000 cubic meter capacity membrane-type tank that makes use of advanced insulating materials to suppress the boil-off rate (percentage of gas volume that vaporizes during navigation) in the cargo tank and realize superior efficiency and economical LNG transportation, according to NYK Line.
‘Grace Emilia’ is equipped with a ‘WinGD-made dual-fuel slow-speed diesel engine’ that has superior fuel-consumption efficiency and can operate on marine gas oil or boil off gas stored in the cargo tank. The vessel also features a re-liquefaction system that can use re-liquefied excess boil-off gas and return it to the cargo tank.
“NYK had been in discussions with GAIL for time-charter contract and other LNG-related businesses and considers GAIL as a key player in India, where gas demand is expected to continue to increase due to remarkable economic growth,” NYK Line said.
Following the recent COP26 agreement by countries to gradually reduce coal-fired power generation, it is expected that demand for LNG, which has a lower environmental load than other fossil fuels, will increase in the future, especially in Asia.
GAIL has contracted to buy 2.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG from Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC, USA, beginning February 2018.
It has also booked 2.3 million tonnes per annum of capacity in the Cove Point LNG liquefaction terminal in the US, and the supplies commenced from April 2018.
India’s largest natural gas company also signed a deal with Russia’s Gazprom to buy 2.85 million tonnes per annum of LNG beginning 2018.
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