MISC Berhad (MISC) has entered into a new partnership agreement with Japanese ship owner, Nissen Kaiun Co., Ltd. (Nissen Kaiun) for the sale and charter of two of its existing LNG carriers.

Under the terms of the transaction, MISC will transfer ownership of the LNG carriers to Nissen Kaiun, and simultaneously enter into a charter agreement with Eaglestar and Synergy Marine as the shipmanagers.

Captain Rajalingam Subramaniam, President & Group CEO of MISC, said, “This strategic transaction is a testament to MISC’s commitment to enhancing our financial flexibility and our ability to adapt to evolving industry dynamics. This is part of our MISC 2030 business strategy to unlock value, maximising returns from our GAS portfolio, whilst growing commercial and operational scale for our shipping segment. I am happy that we are able to enter into this partnership with Nissen Kaiun and look forward to growing this collaboration for current and future business potentials. My thanks to the team members in the MISC Group including Eaglestar, Nissen Kaiun, and Synergy Marine for making this partnership possible within a short period of time.”

Captain Katsuya Abe, President of Nissen Kaiun, said, “We are very proud and excited to start our first time-charter business of LNG carriers for MISC. With support from Synergy Group and Eaglestar, we will strive for the safe operation of LNG carriers. Following this memorable first step, we hope to expand the relationship with MISC in LNG carriers and other segments too.”

The first of the two vessels is expected to be delivered to Nissen Kaiun in the fourth quarter of 2023.