First of new Qatargas fleet delivered

The Al Ruwais and Al Safliya were signed over to the vessel owners at an official ceremony held at the DSME yard.

The vessels will now proceed with bunkering and depart Korean waters in the next few days. It is expected that first Q-Flex cargo will be delivered to Japan before the end of 2007 and Qatargas continues to evaluate all options available to maximize vessel utilization in advance of Qatargas Train 4 start-up.

A further two vessels are expected to be delivered from other Korean yards during November.

Mr. Andy Richardson, Shipping Project Manager for Qatargas Operating Company Ltd said; "We have not only delivered the highest quality ship possible but we have also through hard work and personal commitment at all levels achieved these ship deliveries without any Lost Time Incidents. That is about as good as it gets."

The Q-Flex and the even larger Q-Max are a new generation of LNG mega-ship with about 40% lower energy requirements and carbon emissions than conventional vessels due to the economies of scale created by their size the efficiency of the engines.

Qatargas has chartered the ships from the vessel owners, being companies owned by a consortium of Nakilat, Pronav and German investment companies.