- Order of three 174,000㎥ LNG carriers by an Asian ship owner

- Carriers for US shale gas bound for Asia

- Volume of LNG transport up due to shale gas development in the US and LNG development in Australia and East Africa

- More than 30 LNG carriers will be in line for receiving order annually

On October 13, Samsung Heavy Industries announced that it had won an order from an Asian ship owner amounting to 620 million USD for three LNG carriers.

The Eco-friendly LNG carriers purchased under the contract, which feature Dual Fuel engines, offer higher transport efficiency and lower gas emissions than previous LNG carriers. They are excellent in terms of both performance and efficiency.

The 174,000㎥ LNG carriers, which are due for delivery in 2018, will be put into the Asia-bound route to transfer US shale gas.

Currently, US shale gas projects such as Sabine Pass, Cameron, Freeport, Cove Point projects have won export approval from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). It is expected that about 90 carriers will be needed for the transport of LNG. Of these 90, 60 still need to be ordered, which means that there will be more orders of LNG carriers in the immediate term.

In addition to the four projects approved for export, 14 more shale gas projects are awaiting the FERC`s approval. LNG development is taking place in many countries, including Australia, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

A spokesperson for Samsung Heavy Industries stated: "It is expected that more than 30 LNG carriers will be ordered annually, as LNG exports are expanding to the US, Australia, and East Africa. As we have the No. 1 market share in the LNG carrier market, we will benefit from these orders."

Including this most recent one, Samsung Heavy Industries has recorded 6.5 billion USD in orders so far this year.