MOL mulls LNG transshipment stakes

The Japanese shipping company is looking to acquire stakes in the FSUs serving Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project

Japanese shipping company Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has signed a letter of intent with Russian state-owned transport leasing company GTLK for the acquisition of 49pc of the floating storage units (FSUs) serving the Arctic LNG 2 liquefaction scheme. The Kamchatka and Murmansk FSUs will be used to facilitate transshipment of Arctic LNG cargoes from specialist ice-class carriers—which are limited in availability—on to conventional LNG-carrying vessels for delivery to buyers. The FSUs are currently 100pc-owned by GTLK, while MOL has previously chartered three of its ice-breaking LNG carriers to serve the project. The transshipment terminals—each with 21mn t/yr of capacity—will be operated by Arcti