MOL ALLOWS OMAN TO BUY INTO LNG VESSEL

MOL ALLOWS OMAN TO BUY INTO LNG VESSEL    Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), has agreed to let the Sultanate of Oman take over shares in Greenfield Holding Company Limited (GHCL) from Atlantica Commercial Finance, Inc., a subsidiary of troubled Enron Corp.
   GHCL owns the new LNG carrier named the “Lakshmi” (or “vessel”), through a wholly-owned subsidiary called Greenfield Shipping Company Limited of Malta.
   The Omani government will acquire a 40 percent share in Greenfield Holding Company Limited. MOL will retain a 40 percent share, and the Shipping Corporation of India Limited will keep a 20 percent share.
   The 135,000-cbm “Lakshmi,” built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd., in Nagasaki and delivered on Nov. 15, will be chartered to Oman for the export of LNG from the sultanate. MOL, a major transporter of LNG, will operate the ship for the time being.