MOL’s LNG fleet will grow to 104 ships by March 2025

TOKYO: Japanese shipping giant MOL expects its enormous fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers will increase to 104 ships by March 31, 2025.

MOL announced this in its first quarter report released this week.

This includes LNG vessels owned and/or operated by joint ventures.

According to MOL, the company had 94 LNG ships in its fleet in the first quarter of 2023 and 97 LNG ships in the first quarter of this year.

MOL also previously announced that it has more than thirty LNG tankers on order.

As of March 31, 2024, MOL’s fleet also included five FSUs/FSRUs, three LNG bunkering vessels, one LNG power carrier, six ethane carriers and twenty LPG/ammonia carriers.

MOL has also set a target of operating 90 LNG and methanol-powered ships by 2030.

LNG profit “stable”

MOL reported revenue of 1,627.9 billion yen in fiscal 2023, up from the previous year, while operating profit of 103.1 billion yen and net profit of 261.6 billion yen fell compared to the previous year.

The company’s energy business, which includes its liquefied gas segment, reported revenue of 437.8 billion yen and profit of 66.9 billion yen, both higher than the previous year.

MOL said its LNG carrier business “delivered stable profits, which remained largely unchanged year-on-year, driven by existing long-term charter contracts and the acquisition of new contracts.”

Within the LNG infrastructure business, the FSRU business recorded a year-on-year profit decline “as a result of the redeployment of an existing vessel and preparations to commence commercial operation.”

MOL said its LNG-to-powership business reported “stable” profits.

During the fiscal year from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025, MOL expects the LNG carrier business to “maintain stable profits by honoring existing long-term contracts and with the profit contribution from new projects.”

The LNG infrastructure business is expected to achieve earnings growth, mainly due to the impact of contract extensions for existing projects.