Malaysia’s top shipping line, MISC, has booked a pair of very large ethane carrier (VLECs) newbuildings at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea.
The vessels, costing about $158.5m each, are scheduled for delivery by the end of 2028 into a long-term charter with Thailand’s energy company PTT.
The VLECs will be serving the shipping needs of PTT’s potential offtake from ethane export facilities in the US to Thailand.
The 100,000 cu m newbuilds, designed with dual-fuel ethane propulsion engines, will rank among the largest of their kind in the world, MISC said.
In addition to their primary role of transporting ethane, the VLECs are also capable of carrying ethylene and liquefied petroleum gas.
“The addition of these state-of-the-art VLECs accelerates MISC’s efforts to rejuvenate its portfolio and strengthen the resilience of its revenue generators. By diversifying into the ethane export market, MISC is not only expanding its footprint in the global energy industry but also ensuring a more robust and sustainable revenue stream,” the company said in a release.