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ABS has been awarded classification for the latest series of five 266,000 cbm liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels from the Qatar Gas Transport Company (Nakilat) as it continues its massive 90 ship building program.

The QMax and QFlex vessels are significantly larger than conventional LNG carriers. The QMax being the largest size of LNG vessels on order have a capacity of around 266,000 cbm and the QFlex vessel category ranges from 210,000 to 217,000 cbm. There are currently eight 210,000 cbm vessels and one 217,000 cbm vessel on order to ABS class.

The ships will be powered by twin slow-speed diesel engines and will have full scale on-board re-liquefaction plants which will maximize cargo delivery. “These ships represent a step change in the design of LNG vessels,” said Patrick Chaney, Manager, Ship Sector Development, Gas Carriers, ABS.