Indian minister seeks help from Korea on GAIL’s LNG tender

India’s Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, and the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Joon-gyu Lee have met to appraise GAIL’s requirement for the charter hire of nine LNG ships.

These vessels will be used to transport LNG from US to India, which is necessary to meet the country’s energy requirements. The delivery of LNG would start from December 2017.

A global tender has been floated by GAIL (India) Limited for the hire of nine LNG ships, to be delivered in three lots of three. There is a mandatory provision in the tender, providing for the construction of one ship in each lot in partnership with Indian shipyards. This is part of the ‘Make in India’ effort. The tender has already been extended twice, however must be finalised and awarded by May 2015 in order to start supplies from December 2017.

Four Korean Shipyards qualify for GAIL’s tender requirements: Samsung Heavy Industries; Daewoo Ship Building and Marine Engineering; Hyundai Heavy Industries and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding (STX). Three Indian shipyards are interested in the project, however they must collaborate with Korean shipyards.

During the meeting, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan stressed that GAIL’s tender is, at present, globally one of the largest tenders. This is undoubtedly a good opportunity for Korean shipbuilders to expand their businesses in India.

Adapted from press release by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/lng-shipping/09122014/ministers-discuss-gails-lng-tender-1931/