Nakilat of Qatar, world’s biggest LNG shipper, said it has secured a US$669 million facility with QNB Group for the refinancing of two existing LNG tankers and the purchase of two additional LNG tankers by its Maran-Nakilat joint venture.

This is the second refinancing that Nakilat has secured for its Maran-Nakilat joint venture in recent months. Through the two transactions Nakilat has arranged a combined total of US $1.33 billion in refinancing for its joint venture.

Together the two transactions have allowed Nakilat to double the size of Maran Nakilat’s fleet, from four vessels to eight, and to increase its ownership in the joint venture by 10 percent. Nakilat said the two vessels being added to Maran-Nakilat’s fleet are already under construction in South Korea and that upon delivery, Nakilat’s fleet will compomise 58 LNG tankers.