Nippon Yusen K.K., Japan's biggest shipping line, will nearly double its fleet of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers by the end of the decade to meet project demand, a senior executive said on Friday.
NYK hopes to own 67 LNG tankers by 2010, up from 36 currently, and also hopes to manage another 40, up from 16 now, said Yasushi Yamwaki, executive vice president of NYK Line, told Reuters on the sidelines of an LNG conference.
"The expansion is mostly for long-term projects," he said, adding that they had already ordered the tankers from shipyards. He said the biggest part of demand was from Qatar.
The industry around LNG - natural gas that is chilled and compressed for transport by tanker - is booming as high prices and the growing need for cleaner fuel justify multi-billion-dollar developments in places such as Australia and Qatar.