Iran in Talks to Build LNG Carriers

NITC Iran seems to be losing no time with the preparations for the post-sanction era which seems to be ever closer. Namely, the country is in talks with European counterparts Belgium, France and Germany on construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, PressTV reports citing Managing Director of the National Iranian Tanker Company Ali Akbar Safa’ee. These include floating LNG units (FLNGs) and floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSOs). According to Safaee, National Iranian Tanker Company is planning to enter LNG market and is talks to make this a reality, however no concrete deal has been struck yet. Iran wants to build up a capacity to export 40 million metric tons of LNG a year, he said. As disclosed, Iran is also looking into adding up to 25 tankers, via purchase or construction. The countrys 42-strong VLCC fleet is deemed as the worlds largest and can carry around 2 million barrels of oil. Based on the latest developments, US-led sanctions against Iran are expected to be lifted as early as Monday. In particular, the International Atomic Energy Agency is expected to report on Friday that Iran has met its commitments under July’s nuclear accord with world powers, Bloomberg reports citing Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as saying. This means that an official announcement on the lifting of sanctions could be made on Sunday. World Maritime News Staff