UAE-based maritime logistics company ADNOC Logistics and Services (ADNOC L&S) has awarded shipbuilding contracts to South Korean shipyards Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) and Hanwha Ocean. The contracts, which have a total value of approximately US$2.5 billion, are for the construction of new LNG carriers as part of the company’s transformational growth strategy and fleet expansion plans.
SHI and Hanwha Ocean were awarded shipbuilding contracts for the construction of four firm vessels with the option for an additional one. The vessels are scheduled to be delivered beginning in 2028 and will be time chartered to ADNOC Group subsidiaries for a period of 20 years to support the growing export volumes of natural gas as an in-demand critical lower-carbon transitional fuel. The newbuildings will increase the company’s fleet of LNG carriers from 14 to at least 22 vessels.
The LNG carriers will each have a capacity of 174,000 cubic metres and advanced sustainability technologies. These will include a cargo conditioning system designed to reduce LNG cargo evaporation while in transit, systems to direct cargo boil-off gases to the engines to increase fuel efficiency and decrease fuel consumption, a real-time emissions monitoring system, and cargo containment systems to reduce methane emissions. ADNOC L&S said these features will make the carriers among the most fuel-efficient vessels in the world.