NYK signs deal with GAIL Limited for charter of LNG carrier

NYK signed a multi-year time-charter contract with GAIL (India) Limited, India's largest natural gas company, for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier. NYK and GAIL held an online ceremony on December 20.

Grace Emilia, the vessel that will be chartered, is equipped with a WinGD-made dual-fuel slow-speed diesel engine (i.e., X-DF diesel engine) that has superior fuel-consumption efficiency and can operate on marine gas oil or boil off gas stored in the cargo tank. The vessel also features a re-liquefaction system that can use re-liquefied excess boil-off gas and return it to the cargo tank.

The cargo tank is a 174,000 cubic meter capacity membrane-type tank that makes use of advanced insulating materials to suppress the boil-off rate (percentage of gas volume that vaporizes during navigation) in the cargo tank and realize superior efficiency and economical LNG transportation.

GAIL is India’s state-owned Natural gas major under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas and is a major reseller and pipeline operator in the country. It is the market leader in gas marketing segment accounting for more than 50% of the total gas consumption by end-users in the country.
NYK had been in discussions with GAIL for time-charter contract and other LNG-related businesses and considers GAIL as a key player in India, where gas demand is expected to continue to increase due to remarkable economic growth. Looking to the NYK’s LNG transportation record and sincere engagement, an agreement on this contract was achieved.

Following the recent COP26 agreement by countries to gradually reduce coal-fired power generation, it is expected that demand for LNG, which has a lower environmental load than other fossil fuels, will increase in the future, especially in Asia.