MOL to manage Reliance's VLECs

Mitsui OSK Lines, Japan's biggest shipping company, will manage six very large ethane carriers that Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries is building at Samsung Heavy Industries, the company said in its press release.
 
MOL said, that it would supervise the construction of the 87,000m3 ships and upon vessel delivery, manage the ships.
 
Mumbai-based Reliance Industries' business empire spans petrochemicals, exploration and production, retail and telecommunications.
 
IHS Maritime's Sea-Web data shows the ships, ordered on 17 July, would be delivered from October 2016 to January 2017. Each ship is priced at $120M.
 
The ships would deliver liquefied ethane from North America to India.
 
MOL said: "VLECs, being a hybrid of LNG carrier and LPG carrier, required the expertise in both the LNG carriers and LPG carriers. Considering MOL’s rich experience for both type of carriers it is in better position to leverage on its existing capabilities to tap this new opportunity."
 
Ethane, a natural gas component, is expected to be produced in huge amounts in North America due to the shale gas revolution, which has generated an abundance of LNG and LPG.
 
Ethane is primarily used as a petrochemical feedstock, to produce ethylene by steam cracking.