OBLT Finds Funding for LNG Carrier Newbuild

zoom Panama-registered Oceanic Breeze LNG Transport (OBLT), a joint venture between K Line and Inpex Shipping, has signed a USD 125 million loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), Mizuho Bank, and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, to finance the construction of an 155,300 cbm LNG carrier.  The carrier is being built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, and it will will engage in the transport of LNG from the Ichthys LNG Project in Western Australia to Inpexs Naoetsu LNG Receiving Terminal in Niigata, Japan. The vessel is scheduled for delivery at the end of 2016. The Ichthys LNG Project is operated by Inpex and Total, and is on track to produce its first gas by the end of 2016.