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Abu Dhabi-based Al Seer Marine (ASM) announced on Monday that it has performed the steel cutting ceremony for Lucky Gas, the first of the two Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) vessels it had contracted with South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).
The order for the two VLGCs was placed last year by ABGC DMCC, ASM's joint venture with BGN International, one of the world's leading energy, trading, storage, and transportation companies, according to ASM's press statement.
The JV aims to tap the projected boost in the VLGC segment with growing liquified petroleum gas (LPG) trade relationships between multiple regions, including the Middle East and Asia, Western Africa and Europe, and the United States.
Both ships are sized at 86,000 cubic metres capacity and propelled by LPG fuel, the statement said.
Lucky Gas is expected to be completed and delivered by March 2023, while the second VLGC, named North Gas, is expected to commence steel cutting in May 2022 and be completed and delivered by June 2023, the statement said.
It said the company is aiming to increase its fleet up to 20 ships and is analysing expansion initiatives in product tankers, gas tankers, and dry bulk shipping sectors, with short-term plans of acquiring 10 to 15 ships in 2022.
ASM's Chief Executive Officer Guy Neivens said: "The accelerating rise in demand for oil products and gas, in a tight energy market, has resulted in exploring fleet expansion initiatives to strategically access broader opportunities within commercial shipping."
(Writing by N Madhura; Editing by Anoop Menon)
