据路透社新加坡报道，巴拿马运河首席执行官表示，世界第二大液化天然气运输船“Q-Flex”级液化天然气油轮首次通过巴拿马运河，标志着这种快速增长的商品（液化天然气）从美洲贸易路线扩大到亚洲。
根据Refinitiv Eikon的航运数据显示，在4月21日，这艘可运载21万立方米液化天然气，名为“Al Safliyah”的油轮从卡塔尔向韩国天然气集团公司（KOGAS）的Tongyeong终端卸货后，正从北太平洋前往巴拿马的途中。
巴拿马运河管理局总裁Jorge Quijano告诉路透社：“这是第一个通过巴拿马运河的Q-Flex级油轮。”
在此之前，巴拿马运河在2018年中扩建，以处理更大的运载油气的油轮。
Quijano表示：“这么大的船，可以从美国、特立尼达和多巴哥以及秘鲁的天然气液化工厂运送液化天然气。”
据液化天然气贸易和经纪人消息来源称，全球最大液化天然气生产商卡塔尔天然气打算长期租赁该油轮，卡塔尔天然气没有回应记者的置评询问。
这艘船的所有者卡塔尔天然气运输公司（Nakilat）在3月份表示，它已经评估了“Q-Flex”级液化天然气运输船在不久的将来安全通过巴拿马运河新船闸的能力。
这艘载重量12万吨的“Q-Flex”级液化天然气油轮并不是通过巴拿马运河中最大的一艘，巴拿马运河容纳了14万吨左右的集装箱船。
“Q-Flex”级油轮的运载量比传统液化天然气油轮多50%，通常被卡塔尔天然气用于向欧洲或亚洲出口液化天然气。
最大的液化天然气运输船级被称为“Q-Max”，能够运载26.6万立方米的液化天然气，但由于体积太大而无法通过运河。
一位来自北亚的买家称：“卡塔尔一直在推动使用‘Q-Flex’级油轮，来更有效地利用他们的船只。”
今年早些时候，卡塔尔和合作伙伴埃克森美孚批准了他们共同拥有的美国Golden Pass液化天然气项目，该项目将在2024年启动时提振对此类船只的需求。
新加坡船只经纪公司Banchero Costa研究主管Ralph Leszczynski表示：“如果它能成功地通过巴拿马，即使是空的，将来也可以用于三角测量，在日本或韩国卸货，然后从那里装载美国海湾的新货物。”
Quijano称，自2016年7月早些时候扩建以来，已经有687艘 LNG 油轮通过了巴拿马运河，去年的容量从2016年的300000 吨上升到1150万吨。他补充道：“我们预计今年比去年再增长22%。”。
詹晓晶摘自路透社
原文如下;
World's second-biggest LNG tanker-class vessel to transit Panama Canal for first time
A ‘Q-Flex’ LNG tanker, the world’s second-largest class of liquefied natural gas carriers, is set to pass through the Panama Canal for the first time, the canal’s CEO said, expanding the Americas to Asia trade route for the fast-growing commodity.
The ‘Al Safliyah’, which can carry about 210,000 cubic meters of LNG, is “This is the first Q-Flex to transit the Panama Canal,” Jorge Quijano, chief executive of Panama Canal Authority told Reuters.
It comes after the canal was expanded in mid-2018 to handle larger oil and gas tankers.
“This size of vessel ... could be deployed to carry LNG from the natural gas liquefaction plants in the U.S., Trinidad and Tobago and Peru,” Quijano said.
The ship is The vessel’s owner, Qatar Gas Transport Co (Nakilat), said in March that it had assessed the ability of ‘Q-Flex’ class LNG carriers to safely pass the Panama canal’s new locks in the near future.
At 120,000 deadweight tonnes, the ‘Q-Flex’ LNG tanker, is not the biggest ship to have passed through the Panama Canal, which has accommodated container ships of around 140,000 tonnes.
‘Q-Flex’ type tankers are able to carry up to 50 percent more volumes than conventional LNG tankers, and are typically used by Qatargas to export its LNG to Europe or Asia.
The biggest LNG carriers, known as ‘Q-Max’, are able to carry up to 266,000 cubic meters of LNG, but are too large to use the canal.
“Qatar has been pushing to use ‘Q-Flex’ to utilize their vessels more efficiently,” a source with a North Asian buyer said.
Qatar and partner Exxon Mobil Corp earlier this year gave the go-ahead for their jointly-owned U.S. Golden Pass LNG project, which could boost demand for such vessels when the project starts up in 2024.
“If it can successfully transit Panama even if empty, it could in the future be used for triangulations where it discharges a cargo in Japan or Korea and then from there goes to load a new cargo in the U.S. Gulf,” said Ralph Leszczynski, head of research at ship broker Banchero Costa in Singapore.
Quijano said 687 LNG tankers have transited the Panama Canal since July 2016 following an earlier expansion. Volumes rose to 11.5 million tonnes last year from just 300,000 tonnes in 2016.
“We expect further growth this year of another 22 percent over last year,” he added.