The first custom-built LNG carrier for the Papua New Guinea LNG project fleet has been named Papua in a ceremony in Hudong, China.
The vessel was built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipping Group and will be operated by Mitsui OSK Lines on behalf of ExxonMobil Corp. It is the largest vessel of its type built in China with a capacity for loading 172,000 cu m of LNG.
Papua will be delivered in the next month or so. Along with three other carriers—The Spirit of Helga, Gigira Laitebo, and another vessel under construction at Hudong—it will be dedicated to ship Papua New Guinea LNG to Asia.