• Pacific Gas and INEOS signed long-term time charter agreements at ceremony today, attended by Pacific Gas and INEOS, as well as shipbuilding and financing partners. 
  • Earlier this year, the two companies launched the two largest VLECs in the world: the Pacific INEOS Belstaff and the Pacific INEOS Grenadier. 
  • Agreements will bring INEOS’ ethane fleet to 16 vessels (eight VLECs and eight Dragon class) bringing the number of VLECs chartered by INEOS with Pacific Gas to six.

INEOS Europe AG and Pacific Gas (Hong Kong) Holdings Co., Ltd, have signed long-term time charter agreements for four 99,000cbm (cubic metre) VLECs (Very Large Ethane Carriers). 

INEOS signs long-term time charter agreements with Pacific Gas for four 99,000 cubic metre Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLECs)

The deal will bring INEOS’ ethane fleet to 16 vessels, with eight VLEC and eight Dragon class ethane carriers. With these agreements, INEOS will have a total of six VLECs under time charter with Pacific Gas.

Several high-profile dignitaries attended the signing ceremony, including: Jiang Guodong, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the Shandong Ocean Group; Yang Jincheng, General Manager and Deputy Secretary of the Party Group of CSSC; Xu Peilin, Vice President of INEOS Olefins and Polymers Asia; Wang Peng, President and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of SPDB Financial Leasing; Zhu Zhiqiang, General Manager of Shenzhen Capital Operation Group and Chairman of CIMC Leasing; and Zhang Lianhuai, President of CMB Leasing. 

David Thompson, CEO of INEOS Trading & Shipping, said: “Earlier this year, INEOS and Pacific Gas launched the two largest VLECs in the world: the Pacific INEOS Belstaff, and the Pacific INEOS Grenadier. Today’s signing marks the next stage of our cooperation with Pacific Gas, and we look forward to working with them and the other valuable stakeholders in this exciting project.” 

Chairman Jiang Guodong said “This cooperation benefits from the mutual trust and support of all parties in the project. All parties will take this opportunity to work together and complement each other's advantages to create a new win-win cooperation in future.” 

The signing of the long-term time charter agreements for four 99,000 cubic meter VLEC vessels will take Pacific Gas’ ethane carrying capacity to the largest in the world.