Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (‘K’ Line) has ordered a very large gas carrier from Kawasaki Heavy Industries to service a shipping contract with compatriot LPG trading house Gyxis Corporation.
The 82,200 m3 VLGC will be built by November 2018. This will be the second VLGC that ‘K’ Line will operate for Gyxis. The latest newbuilding contract will expand ‘K’ Line’s VLGC fleet to six ships.
The vessel price was not disclosed but South Korean LPG shipping company KSS Line had ordered a similar ship from Hyundai Heavy Industries in August, also to fulfill a shipping contract with Gyxis. That ship was valued at about USD139 million.
Gyxis Corporation was formed in March 2015 through the merger of the LPG units of Cosmo Oil, Showa Shell Sekiyu, TonenGeneral Sekiyu, and Sumitomo Corporation.
Japan remains the world’s biggest LPG trader although its demand for LPG is falling due to a preference for LNG and coal.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
