United Arab Emirates' ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S) has expanded its fleet with the deployment of five new-build Very Large Gas Carriers (VLGC), state news agency WAM reported on Thursday.
The carriers of the shipping and maritime logistics arm of state oil giant Abu Dhabi National Oil Company each have a capacity of 86,000 cubic metres.
The carriers were built at Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai, China, and will be owned and operated by AW Shipping, an ADNOC L&S joint venture with Wanhua Chemical Group (Wanhua), WAM added.
The carriers have dual-fuel engine technology and use liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as their primary fuel source, making them among the lowest-emission vessels of this type, WAM said.
"Natural gas is playing an increasingly important role in the global energy landscape and ADNOC L&S is expanding its gas fleet to serve customer demand, while reducing the carbon intensity of our vessels," WAM quoted Abdulkareem Al Masabi, the CEO of ADNOC L&S and chairman of AW Shipping.
The VLGCs will transport LPG cargoes sourced from ADNOC and other global suppliers to Wanhua’s manufacturing bases in China and around the world, WAM reported.
AW Shipping was formed in 2020 to support a 10-year LPG supply contract signed in 2018 between ADNOC and Wanhua, WAM added.
