KUALA LUMPUR (March 3): MISC Bhd, which is a 51%-owned subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Bhd, has completed its maiden ethane cargo delivery, which is also the largest to-date in the history of ethane shipping at over 51,000 tonnes.

In a statement today, MISC said its first very large ethane carrier (VLEC) Seri Everest has completed the cargo discharge at Lianyungang port, Jiangsu province, China on Feb 28.

The cargo was loaded from Orbit Terminal, Nederland in the US last October where Seri Everest was the first VLEC to call on the new terminal, it added. The loading and discharge was managed by Eaglestar Shipmanagement Gas (S) Pte Ltd.

Seri Everest is chartered to Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical Co Ltd for a period of 15 years, alongside five other VLECs, MISC said. 

MISC also took delivery of a second VLEC Seri Erlang in January this year, currently on its maiden voyage to the US. The shipping firm is expected to take delivery of the remaining four VLECs within the first half of 2021.

“The recent positive development of Seri Everest is certainly a landmark achievement, driven by the strong passion and dedication of her crew from Eaglestar and the various teams at site and shore,” said MISC president and group chief executive officer Yee Yang Chien.

“This successful feat is a testament to our expertise and commitment in moving energy. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Zhejiang Satellite Petrochemical Co Ltd for their trust and confidence in us. We are certainly proud to support the growing needs of the ethane market and we look forward to sharing more developments as we progress further with our voyages in moving ethane safely and efficiently,” Yee added.

At end-2020, MISC Group’s fleet consisted of more than 100 owned and in-chartered vessels comprising liquefied natural gas (LNG), petroleum and product vessels, VLECs, 14 floating production systems (FPS), as well as two LNG floating storage units (FSU). The fleet has a combined deadweight tonnage capacity of more than 11 million tonnes.

MISC shares closed two sen or 0.3% higher at RM6.78, valuing the group at RM30.22 billion.