October 28, 2016 [OPIS] - Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited inaugurated its first two Very Large Ethane Carriers (VLEC) as ethane shipments from the U.S. Gulf beckon.
The ceremony was held in Geoje, South Korea, on Wednesday in the presence of shipyard Samsung Heavy Industries and other project partners.
The vessels — Ethane Crystal and Ethane Emerald — are the first of their kind to be built, and are the first of a series of six, ordered by Reliance in 2014.
The VLECs are to transport liquefied ethane from the U.S. to the Dahej terminal in India, which will be used to supply feedstock for Reliance’s crackers in Dahej, Hazira and Nagothane.
The vessels have a capacity of 87,000 cubic meters (cbm) and are the largest ever ethane carriers built to date.
French-based GTT (Gaztransport and Technigaz) membrane technology has been employed in the containment system of the vessels, similar to that used to transporting LNG.
Reliance has an ethane supply contract in place with Enterprise Product Partners out of their Morgan’s Point terminal in the U.S. Gulf, which exported its first ethane cargo in September on a 27,500 cbm vessel for Ineos.
Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) will operate and manage the vessels.
Earlier this week, the Indian group announced that $573 million of loan facilities have been secured for part-financing of the vessel construction costs.
