Gaz de France has signed, in partnership with Japanese shipowner NYK Line, a letter of intent with Chantiers de l'Atlantique (Alstom Marine) for the construction of an LNG carrier with a capacity of 153,000 cubic meters to be delivered in October 2006.

This ship will be identical to the one ordered by Gaz de France in September 2003 from Chantiers de l'Atlantique, to be delivered in October 2005.

Designed to transport liquefied natural gas* (LNG), this vessel will be equipped with tanks which use the cargo containment system developed by Gaztransport & Technigaz, a Gaz de France subsidiary, and with a diesel-electric propulsion running mainly on natural gas.

Gaz de France already charters six LNG carriers. \"Gaz de France energY\", a 74,000 cubic meter LNG carrier currently under construction at Chantiers de l'Atlantique, will also join this fleet in late 2004.



* Natural gas can be transformed into a liquid by cooling to minus 160°C. For the same quantity of energy, the volume of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is around 600 times smaller than that of natural gas in gaseous form, making it suitable for transport by sea.

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