Five new VLECs being built for U.S. ethane exports will feature Wärtsilä Gas systems

Image: © Mitsui O.S.K/Samsung Heavy Industries

Wärtsilä Gas Solutions has been selected by Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) to supply the cargo handling- and fuel gas supply system for five new Very Large Ethane Gas Carriers (VLECs). The ships are being built in Korea for Japanese ship owner Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL) and will be used to transport ethane from the U.S. to Thailand. The newbuilds will be equipped with dual-fuel ethane propulsion engines which are expected to reduce greenhouse gas, sulfur oxide, and nitrogen oxide emissions compared to conventional heavy fuel oil vesse

The order was booked by Wärtsilä in Q2 2025.

Wärtsilä has long-term relationships with both the SHI yard and Mitsui O.S.K. Its cargo handling and fuel gas supply systems have been previously selected for numerous vessels built at the SHI yard.

Wärtsilä’s scope of supply includes the engineering for the cargo handling- and fuel gas supply system process plant, as well as for the various sub-systems. It also includes all the required equipment, instrumentation, interface materials between the cargo tanks and hull, and the cargo control system. Wärtsilä Gas Solutions personnel will be on hand to assist the shipyard during the construction and commissioning of the vessels.

“Repeat orders are the clearest endorsement of the importance and reliability of our systems that lead us towards a sustainable futurem” said Kjell Ove Ulstein,sales & marketing director at Wärtsilä Gas Solutions.. We look forward to working closely with all stakeholders to make this another successful project,”

Wärtsilä Gas Solutions is part of Wärtsilä’s portfolio business and specializes in innovative systems and lifecycle solutions for the gas value chain. Its main focus areas are the handling of gas in maritime (storage, fuel, transfer and BOG management), gas to power, liquefaction and biogas solutions.