Gail to Procure a Third of Carriers from Indian Shipbuilders to Ferry US LNG

Indian state owned gas firm Gail India has decided buy from Indian shipbuilders a third of the LNG ships for ferrying the fuel from the US, reports Press Trust of India, a news agency.

The company needs nine ships to transport LNG it has contracted from the US.

The government wanted Gail to set aside a part of the $7.6 billion contract for Indian shippers so that global majors transfer LNG shipbuilding technology to India, adds Press Trust.

According to the news agency, initially, Gail resisted saying it will be a time consuming process, but when the ministry mulled issuing a Presidential directive it backed down.

"Under the advice of Ministry of Petroleum & Natural gas, Gail will shortly come out with a LNG ship charter hire tender specifying, inter-alia, that one ship out of every lot of three ships each would be built in India," Gail said in a filing to the stock exchanges.

Gail decided to give Indian shipbuilders six years to deliver the ships as opposed to two-and-half-year deadline for foreign firms, says Press Trust.