Japan’s IINO Kaiun Kaisha, Ltd. (IINO Lines) has announced that a signing ceremony was held for the time charter contract on a 90,000 m³ LPG Dual-Fuel Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) in Tokyo, Japan on September 4 with Dubai-based energy and commodity trading company BGN.
The Vessel will be constructed at South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd., and is scheduled for delivery at the end of December 2029.
Under the IINO Group’s Medium-Term Management Plan, “Transformation for a Sustainable Future” (The period from April 2026 to March 2031), the Group positions large gas carriers as a strategic growth and new business domain within its portfolio, aiming to develop them into a core business from 2030 onward, and advancing initiatives toward achieving its net-zero emissions by 2050. As part of these efforts, the Group is expanding its fleet of low-carbon dual-fuel vessels to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the Vessel will be the fourth LPG dual-fuel vessel for IINO Lines.
In addition, the Vessel is capable of transiting both the Expanded Panama Canal, which opened in 2016, and the original Panama Canal, which had been in operation prior to the expansion, and will be the largest VLGC capable of transiting the original Panama Canal. While most of the VLGCs can generally transit only the Expanded Panama Canal, the Vessel can transit both canals which provides greater operational flexibility to meet customers’ needs IINO Lines informs.
