MOL will supervise the construction of the six newbuildings Reliance inked at Samsung Heavy Industries in July and will take the $120m ships on charter following their delivery from late 2016.

Reliance, run by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, surprised the shipping world when it ordered the vessels directly rather than partner with an established gasship player in July.

MOL says the new pact will make it the first shipowner globally to be active in the VLEC market.

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