Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat), one of the world's largest shippers of liquefied natural gas, has announced the management takeover of Q-Max LNG carrier Mozah from Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited.

This is the first vessel to be transitioned as part of the phased management transition.

Mozah will also be the first Q-Max LNG carrier to be managed in-house by NSQL, which is currently managing four Q-Flex LNG and four large LPG carriers, said a statement from Nakilat.

To mark the occasion, a video conference was held between Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry and chairman of Nakilat Dr Mohammed Bin Saleh Al Sada and the personnel on-board Mozah, to welcome them to the company and to discuss the importance of this transition to Nakilat and the State of Qatar, it said.

Mozah, a Q-Max vessel wholly-owned by Nakilat and chartered by Qatargas, is the world’s largest LNG carrier in operation with a cargo carrying capacity of 266,000 cu m. It has completed 55 voyages, covering almost 700,000 nautical miles, since it was delivered in July 2008, it stated.

Nakilat’s managing director Abdullah Fadhalah Al Sulaiti, said: “This management takeover of Mozah will mark the beginning of another chapter for our company’s operations as we expand our role as a ship manager and move towards consolidating the operations for our wholly-owned vessels in-house.”

“The management of our vessels centrally from Qatar will allow Nakilat to strategically capitalise on the existing skill base, expertise and synergy with our charterers and realise operational efficiencies in addition to optimising costs,” he stated.

“We remain steadfastly committed towards ensuring the highest standards of safety and quality across our fleet as we strive to be a global leader and provider of choice for energy transportation and maritime services,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service