ExxonMobil has announced that the Kumul LNG carrier has successfully loaded its first cargo at the Papua New Guinea LNG (PNG LNG) marine facilities. Furthermore, the 200th PNG LNG cargo is scheduled to be loaded onto the Spirit of Hela on 4 – 5 June 2016. The Kumul is owned by East China LNG Shipping Investment Co. Ltd and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (MOL). The latter will operate the vessel for the PNG LNG project, and will transport cargoes under ExxonMobil PNG Ltd’s direction.
The Kumul, alongside its sister ship, the Papua, was constructed by a subsidiary company of China State Shibuilding Corp. – Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd. The Papua entered service in February 2015.
The 172 000 m3, 290 m long Kumul, which was officially named in April 2016, has commenced service on a long-term charter with ExxonMobil PNG, which is the operator of the PNG LNG project.
The Managing Director of ExxonMobil PNG, Andrew Barry, said: “We could not be more excited about the arrival of the Kumul – the second of the custom-built ships to load its first cargo which will be delivered to Sinopec. We are also delighted that the 200th cargo for PNG LNG will be loaded onto the Spirit of Hela a few days later.
"These two milestones further underpin our already strong reputation for safely and reliably delivering LNG to our customers."
Edited from press release by David Rowlands