A new Indonesian LNG carrier manning firm owned by Japan’s shipping giant MOL and MCS Internasional has officially started operations last week.
MOL said in a statement that an opening ceremony of McMOL Crewing International (McMOL) was held on April 25 in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The two firms established the JV in August last year saying that it will begin operations in April this year.
MOL senior managing executive officer, Mitsuhisa Tanimoto, said “MCSI has been providing excellent seafarers to our LNG carrier fleet for many years.”
He said the opening of this JV “will enable us to secure a stable supply of highly skilled seafarers to support our high-quality transport services and meet the needs of our customers as we look to expand our LNG fleet in the future.”
MOL has a huge fleet of LNG carriers and it also a set a target to operate 90 LNG-powered and methanol-fueled vessels by 2030.
The company’s fleet of LNG carriers continues to expand and the Japanese shipping giant currently has more than 30 LNG vessels on order.
MOL had 96 LNG carriers in its fleet as of December 31 last year.
It expects that it will have 97 LNG carriers in its fleet by the end of March this year.
This includes LNG carriers owned and/or operated by joint venture companies.
MOL also recently signed a long-term FSRU charter deal with Poland’s Gaz-System for the planned LNG import terminal in Gdansk, and it confirmed that HD Hyundai Heavy will build the FSRU.
