MOL said in a statement that the charter agreement was signed on Tuesday during an energy event in India.
According to MOL, the vessel in question is the 180,000-cbm GAIL Bhuwan, built in 2021.
GAIL signed the charter agreement with LNG Japonica Shipping, a joint venture between MOL (74 percent) and GAIL (26 percent).
MOL noted that the two firms share a long-standing business partnership, and this collaboration further strengthens cooperation in LNG shipping and energy logistics.
The Japanese firm did not provide further details regarding the agreement.
MOL announced in February 2021 that it held a naming ceremony for GAIL Bhuwan and that the vessel will serve GAIL under a charter deal to ship LNG from the US Gulf Coast to India, for meeting the country’s energy needs but also to other markets globally.
It is not clear why the two firms are now signing the long-term charter agreement for this vessel.
In December 2022, MOL also said that it had agreed to share this vessel by transferring a portion of a MOL subsidiary’s shares to GAIL.
The two firms also signed a new charter deal for one 174,000-cbm LNG carrier at the time.
