< M Hanafi Jamal (Head, PETRONAS LNG Fleet Management), Adnan Zainal Abidin (EVP & CEO, PETRONAS Gas & New Energy), Abang Yusuf Abang Puteh (VP, PETRONAS LNG Assets), Seung-Yong Park (Executive Vice President of Hyundai Heavy Industries), Kyu-Bong Lee (President & CEO of Hyundai LNG Shipping)>

Hyundai LNG Shipping announced that it held a virtual signing ceremony on the 27th to mark the long-term charter of LNG carriers with Malaysia’s largest state-owned energy firm PETRONAS.

At the signing ceremony that was held as an online video-conference call due to COVID-19 precautions, Kyu-Bong Lee, President & CEO of Hyundai LNG Shipping, Adnan Zainal Abidin, Executive Vice President & CEO of PETRONAS Gas & New Energ, and Seungyong Park, Executive Vice President of Hyundai Heavy Industries, signed their names in celebration of the new contract and delivered congratulatory remarks.

The time charter signed between Hyundai LNG Shipping and PETRONAS LNG is a long-term charter that will hire three LNG carriers. If include three optional vessels, it is the largest order ever received by a single Korean shipowner, which has set a new milestone for South Korea’s shipping industry.

Under the newly inked contract, Hyundai LNG Shipping will mainly transport liquefied natural gas from the LNG Canada Project that is set to launch in 2024 to PETRONAS’ customers globally. The deal also orders Hyundai Heavy Industries to build LNG carriers to be employed by PETRONAS LNG.

“The PETRONAS LNG project we secured this time is indeed a national feat, as a Korean LNG shipowner and a Korean shipyard worked shoulder to shoulder to win the large-scale packaged deal of a foreign state-owned energy company,” Hyundai LNG Shipping’s CEO Kyubong Lee said. “Notably, Hyundai LNG Shipping has proved the unrivalled competitiveness of Korean shipowners in the global LNG carrier market, on behalf of all Korean shipowners.” He also added, “Building on this project, Hyundai LNG Shipping will continue evolving to become a global shipowner specializing in transporting liquid cargoes.”

Meanwhile, Hyundai LNG Shipping’s founding dates back to when IMM Private Equity and IMM Investment acquired the LNG transport business unit of Hyundai Merchant Marine (now known as HMM).  IMM Private Equity and IMM Investment formed a consortium and acquired the financially strapped business unit through a business transfer deal in June of 2014. Banking on the potential of Hyundai LNG Shipping’s fleet exclusively for LNG transport, IMM has made investments and provided support for years to recruit professionals, integrate fleet management, and provide professional training to crew members. IMM’s robust support is thought to have significantly improved Hyundai LNG Shipping’s competitiveness to the global standard level, which is a prerequisite for winning international contracts.

Hyundai LNG Shipping constantly seeks to win new global projects from the world’s leading LNG carrier charterers, aiming to add them to its client list. Hyundai LNG Shipping is currently in final stage negotiations with multiple international LNG players for the charter contracts.