Adnoc L&S adds five new gas carriers to shipping fleet

Adnoc Logistics & Services, the shipping and maritime logistics unit of Adnoc, added five new very large gas carriers to its fleet to meet the growing global demand for gas.

The vessels were built at the Jiangnan shipyard in Shanghai, China, and will be owned and operated by AW Shipping, an Adnoc L&S joint venture with Wanhua Chemical Group, the company said on Thursday.

The five VLGCs – named Al Ain, Zakher, Rabdan, Al Salam and Baynounah – use dual-fuel engine technology and each have a capacity of 86,000 cubic metres to transport liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). They use LPG as their primary fuel source, making them among the lowest-emission vessels of this type, the company said.

“The addition of these newbuild, lower-emission vessels to Adnoc L&S’s growing fleet of more than 800 owned, operated and chartered vessels represents another important milestone as we bolster our capacity to capitalise on growing global energy demand,” said Capt Abdulkareem Al Masabi, chief executive of Adnoc L&S and chairman of AW Shipping. “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.”

Global demand for LPG has been rising. It is expected to play a key role in helping the transition to clean energy, especially in cooking, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency.

AW Shipping was formed in 2020 to support a 10-year LPG supply contract signed in 2018 between Adnoc and Wanhua.

The company will use the new ships to transport LPG cargo sourced from Adnoc and other global suppliers to Wanhua’s manufacturing bases in China and around the world, Adnoc L&S said.

Kou Guangwu, chief executive of Wanhua Chemical Group, said the AW Shipping joint venture had added great value to both Wanhua and Adnoc L&S “by optimising the supply chain”.

Meanwhile, Jiangnan Shipyard, which delivered the VLGCs, is also building liquefied natural gas carriers for Adnoc L&S, with the vessels scheduled to be delivered in 2025 and 2026.