Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. today announced that on January 23, its group company MOL Energia Pte. Ltd. signed a long-term charter contract for three newbuilding very large ethane carriers (VLECs) with SCG Chemicals PLC., a wholly owned subsidiary of Thailand's Siam Cement Group Co. (SCG).
The 100,000 m3 VLECs will be built at Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. and are scheduled for delivery in 2027. The vessels will be equipped with dual-fuel ethane propulsion engines, which will reduce greenhouse gas, sulfur oxide, and nitrogen oxide emissions compared to conventional heavy fuel oil vessels.
With this contract, the number of VLECs managed and operated by MOL group will increase to 12 vessels out of approximately 90 VLECs which have been delivered or in order.