QatarEnergy signed an agreement with China State Shipbuilding Corp. (CSSC) for the construction of six additional QC-Max vessels, bringing the total number of LNG vessels on order under its fleet expansion program to 128.
The QC-Max vessels, which will be built at China’s Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard, a wholly owned CSSC subsidiary, are the largest LNG vessels ever built with a capacity of 271,000 cu m each, the operator said in a release Sept 9. The carriers are scheduled to be delivered between 2028 and 2031.
The six new advanced vessels are in addition to 18 QC-Max vessels recently ordered from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipyard (OGJ Online, Apr. 29, 2024). This brings the total number of QC-Max vessels ordered by QatarEnergy to 24, with a total value of about $8 billion, the company said.