Hong Kong-based Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings Limited is expanding into the Middle Eastern market with a new deal to supervise a series of very large ammonia and ethane carriers.
Its subsidiary Venture Marine Services (VMS) will be overseeing the newbuilding supervision projects for seven 99,000m³ very large ethane carriers (VLECs) and four 93,000m³ very large ammonia carriers (VLACs) at Jiangnan Shipyard for AW Shipping.
AW Shipping is a joint venture between Abu Dhabi-based ADNOC Logistics & Services and Shandong-based Wanhua Chemical Group.
To remind, ADNOC Logistics & Services (ADNOC L&S), the shipping and maritime logistics subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), formed the joint venture (JV) with Wanhua Chemical Group (Wanhua) in 2020.
The aim was the company to transport LPG cargoes and other petroleum products, sourced from the ADNOC Group and global suppliers, to Wanhua Group’s manufacturing bases in China and around the world.
“The launch of this project demonstrates VMS’s technical capabilities in supervising the more sophisticated gas carriers, in addition to LNG ships,” Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings Limited said on LinkedIn.
The 230-metre-long ammonia-ready VLACs will be equipped with LPG dual-fuel engines. The construction of the first VLAC, kicked off in March and is currently in the block fabrication phase, scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2026. Meanwhile, the 230-metre-long VLECs will be powered by ethane dual-fuel engines.
