SK Shipping doubles LNG fleet in vessel swap deal with H-Line

South Korean shipping companies SK Shipping and H-Line Shipping will swap vessels and long-term contracts in a deal that will make SK Shipping Asia's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier operator, their owner Hahn Company said on Thursday.

SK Shipping will receive 16 LNG vessels and related long-term contracts from H-Line Shipping in exchange for 12 tankers, long-term contracts and about $300 million in cash, Hahn said in a press release.

After the transaction, SK Shipping will operate 32 LNG carriers and 14 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) vessels, becoming the third-largest LNG carrier operator globally.

Hahn plans to rebrand the company as K-LNG.