"We are looking for new growth that will add value to our business, but talks with third parties are still in the preliminary stage," said Nasarudin.
MISC, which is 63% owned by national oil company Petronas, is bracing itself for growing competition in the LNG shipping sector, with 37 new vessels coming onstream by 2017, and is trying to cut dependence on Petronas contracts. Petronas is also planning to own new LNG carriers it has on order directly rather than placing them with MISC.
While the new vessels built by its competitors will probably seek take advantage of projects emerging in the United States, Canada, Mozambique and Nigeria they may still cause freight rate pressure on the overall market. "The contraction in rates will have an impact on us, but our contracts are on a long-term basis and have good potential for extension," Nasarudin said.
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