KUALA LUMPUR: A consortium consisting of MISC Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary, Portovenere and Lerici (Labuan) Pte Ltd (PLL), has been awarded long-term time charter contracts by QatarEnergy for five additional newbuilds liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to be built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co Ltd.

Besides PLL, the consortium consists of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (K-Line) and China LNG Shipping (Holdings) Ltd (CLNG).

Together with the seven long-term time-charter contracts secured earlier in August, this brings 12 newbuilding LNG carriers awarded by QatarEnergy to the consortium.

In a statement today, MISC said these LNG carriers would be equipped with eco-efficient technologies such as X-DF 2.1 engines with Intelligent Control by Exhaust Recycling (iCER) System, which will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

These 174,000 cubic metres of LNG carriers are expected to be delivered commencing 2025 and will serve the needs of QatarEnergy in transporting LNG to various countries around the world.

MISC president and group chief executive officer Captain Rajalingam Subramaniam said the company looks forward to adding value to the partnership as it continues to play a progressive role in the global LNG shipping industry.

"In this evolving energy industry, collaborative partnerships are vital to ensuring success in fulfilling the growing demand for energy and achieving sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders.

"As we navigate the evolving energy industry ahead, we will continue strengthening partnerships to build a progressive, sustainable, and successful future," he said.

MISC is one of the world's largest single owner-operators of LNG tankers.

Its gas assets and solutions (GAS) fleet currently comprises 30 LNG carriers, six very large ethane carriers (VLEC) and two LNG floating storage units (FSUs) with a combined deadweight tonnage capacity of over two million tonnes.