Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has been tapped by Ineos Energy Trading to build two new LNG tankers to import the energy source into Germany from the U.S.

The two vessels signify Ineos’ first entry into the LNG carrier market, Ineos said June 27 in a press release.

Ineos, a global petrochemicals manufacturer, has an extensive fleet of ethane and naphtha carriers and is already a large transporter of ethane gas from the U.S. to Europe and Asia.

The two vessels will allow Ineos to “develop a ‘pipeline’ of LNG into Europe to service its own demand, as well as that of select third parties,” the company said in the release.

Both vessels will be built at the Okpo Shipyard in South Korea and have a capacity of 174,000 m3.

The two vessels will be equipped with the latest MAN Energy Solutions engines (ME-GA) while the addition of Air Lubrication technology and Shaft Generators means the vessels are expected to be highly efficient, Ineos said.

“We agreed [on] an engine type and vessel specification with MOL that we believe is optimal for reducing carbon emissions and methane slip,” Ineos CEO David Bucknall said in the release.

The deal with MOL comes after Ineos signed a long-term sale and purchase agreement with U.S.-based Sempra for the purchase of 1.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG sourced from Port Arthur as well as the purchase of long-term regasification capacity in Brunsbuttel, the German LNG terminal.

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