MOL signs charter contract with GAIL for LNG carrier

Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) and state-run GAIL (India) Ltd have signed a time charter contract for a newbuild liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier, and for joint ownership of an existing LNG carrier.

The newbuild vessel will be built by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (042660.KS) with a charter period from 2023, according to a joint statement by MOL and GAI.

This is the second charter agreement for an LNG carrier signed between MOL and GAIL, which is India’s largest gas distributor. The first carrier, under the agreement signed in 2019, ships LNG from the U.S. Gulf Coast to India.