Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced the delivery of the LNG carrier Papua by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. (Hudong) on January 30. The Papua is the first in a series of four ships to be built by Hudong to provide LNG transportation for the PNG LNG project in Papua New Guinea and the Gorgon Jansz LNG project in Australia. MOL will operate the Papua under a long-term charter contract for the PNG LNG project operated by ExxonMobil, the company said in its press release.
In January 2011, MOL assigned technical experts to the shipyard in China and created a shipbuilding supervision team made up of multinational staff, mostly Chinese and Japanese, to ensure the safe and high-quality construction of these LNG carriers. Since then, the company has been actively involved in the project to build these LNG carriers in China – a first for an overseas shipping company – in cooperation with ExxonMobil.
The ship was named Papua by the First Lady of Papua New Guinea, Mrs. Lynda Babao O'Neill, in the naming ceremony which was held at Hudong shipyard on January 8.
The project scope is for the transportation of LNG for China's major energy company, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC). The vessel is co-owned by a major Chinese ship-owner, China Shipping (Group) Company and SINOPEC, meaning there is a very substantial Chinese involvement in the project.