Two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, Józef Piłsudski and Ignacy Jan Paderewski built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries, have joined the Polish energy company's fleet.

Each vessel, chartered for 10 years, is capable of transporting up to 70 thousand tonnes of LNG.

According to Ireneusz Fąfara, President of the Management Board of ORLEN, the company's LNG fleet will grow to eight ships by 2026.

"The share of seaborne liquefied natural gas in Poland's total gas imports has been steadily increasing. In 2024, LNG accounted for nearly half of all gas brought into the country, with the full volume of 70.22TWh imported by the ORLEN Group. The new LNG carriers will provide the company with greater flexibility in securing deliveries in the coming years," ORLEN shared in a press release.

The company also highlighted, "ORLEN also utilises capacity reserved at the FSRU terminal in Klaipėda [...], where it has so far [21 March 2025] received 11 cargoes totalling nearly 740,000 tonnes of LNG. After regasification, the gas is transported to Poland via the Poland-Lithuania interconnector. A portion of the fuel is also supplied to Baltic markets."

Photo: ORLEN