COSCO SHIPPING Energy Transportation, MOL, Shanghai Maritime University co-sponsored Shanghai LNG Forum 2018

June 15, 2018

TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Junichiro Ikeda) today announced that it jointly hosted the Shanghai LNG Forum 2018 with COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation Co., Ltd. (CSET) and Shanghai Maritime University.

The keywords for this event, the first ever, were "green, safety, growth, and win-win," and it brings together leading LNG industry professionals from Japan and overseas with the goal of strategically developing new business opportunities in the LNG field and studying trends in the industry.

The forum drew about 200 people mainly from leading companies in the LNG industry, who made presentations about the latest trends in the LNG market and ocean transport, and advances in LNG carrier and floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) technologies. In recent years, China has focused increasing attention on LNG, which is a clean and environmentally friendly energy resource. Last year, China overtook South Korea to become the world's second-largest LNG importing country following Japan. The Chinese LNG market has shown steady growth, and demand is expected to expand even more in the future.

Since it launched the ExxonMobil project (*1) announced in March 2010, MOL jointly owns and operates 17 LNG carriers (including those in the planning stage), with 14 of them constructed in China, in partnership with COSCO SHIPPING LNG Investment (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of forum co-host CSET, on LNG transport for SINOPEC (*2) and the Russia Yamal LNG project (*3). China is one of MOL's primary markets in its LNG carrier business.

MOL continues to further deepen and develop the trusting business relationships it has developed with its Chinese partners, and the ship construction know-how it has acquired in ship construction in China, and contribute to further growth of the LNG business in China through various transport-related projects.

(*1) Please refer to the press release on March 3, 2010:
MOL Signs a Contract for Long-term Charters of LNG vessels by ExxonMobil

(*2) Please refer to the press release on April 30, 2013:
MOL's Participation in China FOB Transportation Project

(*3) Please refer to the press release on July 9, 2014:
MOL signs Ship Building Contracts with DSME for ice class carriers
and on November 2, 2017:
MOL and China COSCO Shipping Jointly Own 4 LNG Carriers for Russia Yamal LNG Project