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In
what is considered as a major
break-though in its history of LNG
transportation, Malaysia
International Shipping Corporation
Berhad (MISC) has successfully
secured a third party contract with
a foreign utility company for one of
20-year old refurbished LNG
carriers.
The
national shipping corporation, which
pioneered the policy of exporting
LNG only on ex-ship (C&F) basis
that reserves the carriage of LNG
cargo from Malaysia on
Malaysian-flag vessels, has secured
a 3+ 1 year contract with Gaz de
France for the time charter of its
130 cu metre LNG tanker, “Tenaga
Satu”.
MISC
said the contract marks a major
milestone in its history as “this
is the first ever MISC has secured
an LNG transportation contract
outside of Petronas Group”.
Tenaga
Satu tanker is one of the five LNG
ships built in 1979 in France by
MISC to perform contracts for MLNG
Sdn Bhd for the carriage of LNG from
Bintulu to utilities companies in
Japan under a 20-year agreement.
Securing
employment for the elderly tankers
that are being off-hired by the
Japanese utilities companies as they
complete their respective contracts
had, in recent years, been a source
of concern to the world’s largest
operator of LNG ships.
This
is because increasingly it is seen
that LNG customers, notably Japanese
and Koreans are pushing for FOB
sales by offering their own ships to
carry the LNG cargo.
Arising
from this concern, MISC stepped up
its efforts recently to bid for
third party LNG transportation (for
its retiring vessels) but had been
unsuccessful until the recent deal
with the French utility giant.
Under
the agreement with Gaz de France,
MISC, which with the Tenaga series
vessels owns 13 vessels, will man
and operate the LNG tanker for the
French company beginning 2003 to
meet its commitments globally.
Gaz
de France is a major European gas
utility company, which is also
involved in exploration, production,
trading, transportation, storage and
distribution of natural gas.
Meanwhile,
MISC, which derives about 80 per
cent of its profit from the carriage
of LNG, is expected to further
strengthen its position as the
largest owner operator of LNG
tankers in the world, as it awaits
the delivery of another six more
tankers, two of which will be
delivered later this year.
The
new ships will be on time charter to
MLNG to meet its obligation to
customers in Japan, Taiwan and S
Korea.
MISC
said its recent success with Gaz de
France was a reflection to MISC’s
experience and reputation in the LNG
transportation business.
It
said the contract augured well for
the company’s planned business
expansion to move into and cater for
the European and Atlantic LNG
transportation business and to
pursue this objective it would be
setting up an LNG office in Europe.
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