Japanese shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL) has received the LNG carrier Beidou Star from Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd.

The Beidou Star is the third ship in a series of four newbuild LNG carriers that will offer transportation services on long-term charter, for ExxonMobil's LNG interests in Papua New Guinea and Australia.

This ship building project marks a number of "firsts" – the first use of a Chinese shipyard by a foreign shipping company, the first time for a Chinese Energy major PetroChina Company Limited to participate in an LNG transport project, and the first co-ownership of LNG carriers between the China's major ship operator, China Shipping (Group) Company and PetroChina.