Qatargas and Nakilat name world's biggest LNG vessel at Samsung before delivery to Lloyd's Register Class

International gas shipping entered a new era when the world's largest LNG vessel was named in front of a huge crowd of dignitaries at Samsung Heavy Industry's (SHI) massive shipyard on Geoje Island, South Korea.

Ordered and to be operated by the Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat), ‘Mozah’, the first "Q-Max"-sized vessel with a capacity for 266,000 cubic-metres of LNG, will carry almost 80 percent more cargo than conventional ships. These new models are expected to spearhead long haul gas shipping to the United States and Europe as the industrialized world continues its search for cleaner energy products. ‘Mozah’ will be classed by Lloyd’s Register. The Q-Max model - "Q" for Qatar and "Max" for the maximum size of ship able to dock at the LNG terminals in Qatar - features slow-speed diesel engines that are more fuel- and thermally efficient than steam turbines, resulting in about a 30 percent reduction in overall emissions. In short, they represent a cleaner way to safely transport cleaner energy. The improved economies of scale inherent in the much larger comparative load capacity also are expected to reduce shipping costs - which typically have accounted for about one-third of the price for LNG -- by about 30 percent. Lloyd's Register is the world's leading classification society for LNG vessels with 39% of the existing fleet under its class, a proportion that is destined to grow with the delivery of the new Q-Maxes in the next two years. In all, 14 Q-Max and 31 Q-Flex-sized LNG ships have been ordered from the big three Korean shipbuilders by Qatari interests and their partners, 17 of which will be built to Lloyd's Register class.
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