Qatar’s state-owned oil and gas giant QatarEnergy has strengthened its global shipping fleet with the naming ceremony for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier (LNGC) at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipyard in South Korea.
A joint venture – sponsored by Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line), Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, China LNG Shipping, and MISC through its wholly owned subsidiary, Portovenere and Lerici (Labuan) -held a naming ceremony for a 174,000 cubic meter (cbm) LNG vessel for QatarEnergy at HD Hyundai Heavy Industries’ facility on July 14.
The newbuild vessel, which expands the Persian Gulf State giant’s fleet, was named Halwan after a source of water in Qatar. This ship is the ninth in a series of 12 LNG vessels that the joint venture has been building for QatarEnergy, and it is the second of three vessels for which K Line is responsible for ship management. The Qatari giant will assign the vessel to global LNG transport.
The vessel is equipped with X-DF 2.1 iCER, a low-speed dual-fuel engine with LNG at low pressure, and an air lubrication system that uses air bubbles generated along the bottom of the ship to reduce the resistance between the ship’s hull and seawater, which will contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and environmental impact by lowering fuel consumption in operation.
The seventh and eighth 174,000-cubic meter LNG vessels were named in December 2025. The first ship was named Sharq and the second Shra’Ouh. These vessels are also equipped with X-DF 2.1 iCER. QatarEnergy’s LNG fleet expansion program entails 128 vessels, including 24 QC-Max-size LNG ships.
K Line positioned the LNG business as a top priority in its future investments within its medium-term management plan published in May 2022. The Japanese firm intends to continue responding to the diverse needs of its customers to expand its long-term contracts and accommodate the growing energy demand.
