NYK Line signs new Chemical Tanker Contract
June 14, 2002
On June 4, 2002, NYK, together with Iino Kaiun Kaisha and Mitsui and Co., Ltd., entered into two new time-charter contracts with the Canada-based Waterfront Shipping Company Limited. Both of these contracts involve a 45,000 deadweight chemical tanker for the carriage of Methanol over fifteen years.
One vessel is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter 2003 at Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. in Ehime Prefecture and then will be managed by NYK. The other will be completed in the first quarter 2004 at Shin Kurushima Dockyard Co., Ltd. in Ehime and then will be managed by Iino. Both ships will be jointly owned by NYK and Iino with an equal equity and operated by the Waterfront Shipping.
Waterfront Shipping is a shipping subsidiary of the Canada-based Methanex Corporation, which is the world's largest Methanol producer. Both of these vessels will carry Methanol from Trinidad and Tobago, where the Methanex will launch 1.7 million MT of new Methanol plant jointly with British Petroleum, to US Gulf or the countries in north western Europe.
This is the second ship for the Japanese consortium to time-charter out to the Waterfront Shipping since their first ship "Cisne Blanco", 30,000 deadweight Methanol carrier, was delivered to the Waterfront back in 1996.
Vessel Particulars are as follows:
| Imabari ship | Shin Kurushima ship | |
| Gross Tonnage | 30,800 MT | 30,300 MT |
| Deadweight | 44,950 MT | 45,100 MT |
| LOA | 185.9 meters | 186.0 meters |