Imabari battles with late delivery of Elcano ships

Two LNG carriers under construction at Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan for Spanish shipowner Elcano are running around nine months late for delivery.

Sources close to the project said Imabari has been battling with the construction of the 178,000-cbm LNG newbuildings Castillo de Merida and Castillo de Caldelas, which were contracted in early 2014 for delivery in mid-2017.

The vessels were ordered by Spain’s Elcano, working in cooperation with Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp, against long-term contracts with national energy company Gas Natural Fenosa.