South Korean shipbuilding company Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) signed a contract today along with Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) to construct a 180, 000 cbm liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier vessel.

LNG Carriers under construction at DSME shipyard: Image Wikipedia

DSME commented that when construction is completed the LNG carrier is going to be chartered out to German energy supplier E.ON.

The ship, which will be 297.2 m long and 46.4 m wide, has been appointed a scheduled delivery date by DSME’s Okpo shipyard for the year 2018.

The LNG carrier is going to be equipped with DSME’s partial re-liquefaction system which focuses on re-liquefying the vaporized gas and returning it back to the containment system.

The contract stipulates that MOL has the right to order another additional LNG carrier. The order depends on the trade volume of E.ON.

Back in January this year, the South Korean shipbuilding giant wrapped up a deal with Korea Line Corporation and Hyundai LNG regarding the construction of four LNG carrier vessels.

DSME’s order book sits at the hefty sum of USD 1.4 billion year to date.