QatarEnergy has signed long-term time charter party (TCP) agreements with four shipowners for the operation of 19 new liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels as part of the second phase of its fleet expansion programme.

Six vessels will be operated by CMES LNG Carrier Investment, six by Shandong Marine Energy (Singapore), and three by MISC Berhad, all of which are being constructed at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea.

The remaining four vessels will be operated by a joint venture of Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K-Line) and Hyundai Glovis, and are being constructed at Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), also in South Korea.

The 19 vessels will each have a capacity of 174,000 cubic metres.

The deals mark the conclusion of QatarEnergy’s programme to expand its fleet of conventional-sized vessels. During a signing ceremony in Doha, Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the minister of state for energy affairs, and president and chief executive officer of QatarEnergy, describes it as “a massive undertaking that is the largest shipbuilding and leasing programme ever in the history of the industry".

The ships will support expanded LNG production capacity from the North Field in Qatar and Golden Pass in the United States, while also meeting long-term fleet replacement requirements.

Since 2022, QatarEnergy has signed a series of TCPs for the long-term charter and operation of 104 conventional LNG vessels, 43 of which will be chartered by the company’s affiliate QatarEnergy Trading.