LNG Carrier CESI Gladstone Delivered for SINOPEC LNG Project

1st in Series of 6 New LNG Carriers Built in China Marks a Milestone

Tokyo - November 01, 2016

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda) today announced that the LNG carrier CESI Gladstone, which was ordered by the joint venture of China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited (China COSCO Shipping) and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SINOPEC), was delivered at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. (Hudong) on October 31.

On October 18, before the delivery, the naming ceremony was held at Hudong. As a crowd of well-wishers looked on, the vessel received the name CESI Gladstone. It is the first vessel to serve in the LNG transport project for SINOPEC announced in April 2013(*1), and will sail under a long-term charter contract to transport LNG that SINOPEC will purchase from the Australia Pacific LNG Project.


Naming ceremony on October 18. Image by MOL

This follows the ExxonMobil LNG project, announced in March 2010 (*2), for which four newbuilding LNG carriers were ordered from Hudong and delivered by April of this year. The project has deep roots in China from many aspects, such as LNG transport for SINOPEC, the nation's major energy projects, and the joint venture involving SINOPEC and China COSCO Shipping, China's largest shipping company, as well as MOL. The joint venture, capitalized 80% by SINOPEC and China COSCO Shipping and 20% by MOL, is committed to safe, reliable operation.

In cooperation with China COSCO Shipping, MOL played key role in vessel construction together with Chinese partners. It assigned technical experts to the shipyard in China and created a shipbuilding supervision team made up of multinational staff, mostly Chinese and Japanese, to ensure the safe and high-quality of the newbuilding LNG carriers. Starting with the CESI Gladstone, a total of six newbuilding LNG carriers will be delivered from this year through 2018. The CESI Gladstone is a major milestone, as the first vessel to serve this project.

MOL takes a proactive stance in acquiring new projects while newly leveraging this experience in international joint projects, and strives to precisely determine customer needs and provide safe, high-quality LNG transport services.

(*1) Please refer to the press release "MOL's Participation in China FOB Transportation Project" on April 30, 2013.

(*2) Please refer to the press release "MOL Signs a Contract for Long-term Charters of LNG vessels by ExxonMobil" on March 3, 2010.

Outline of CESI Gladstone
Length : 290.0m
Breadth : 45.60m
Draft : 11.70m
LNG Tank : Membrane type
Cargo Tank Capacity : 174,100m3
Main Engine : Dual Fuel Diesel Electric
Speed : 19.5 knots
Shipyard : Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd
Ship Management Company : China Energy Ship Management Co., Limited
MOL 20%
China Energy Shipping Investment Co., Limited(*3)(CESI) 80%
Ownership : MOL: 20%, CESI: 80%

(*3) JV of China COSCO Shipping: 51%/SINOPEC: 49%

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. press release