Five Korean shipping lines head to Doha to pitch for LNG business

It’s not just South Korea’s shipbuilders who are bidding to profit from Qatar’s latest mega expansion of its LNG supply chains; many of the east Asian nation’s top shipping lines are vying for business too.

Yonhap, South Korea’s top newswire, is reporting that an alliance of Korea Line, Pan Ocean, SK Shipping, Hyundai LNG Shipping and H-Line Shipping, is in Doha today, pitching for business.

Qatar Petroleum is expected to order another 40 to 60 LNG carriers shortly, with Korean shipbuilders in pole to gain the lion’s share of the order. While these ships are likely to be operated by subsidiary Nakilat, a further 50-60 LNG carriers might needed to meet Qatar Petroleum’s export goals set for 2024.

The hard hit South Korean shipowning sector – among the most decimated this decade, along with Germany – has come together in other alliances recently. Five of its container lines have been operating as an alliance on intra-Asia trades, for instance.