‘Dragon-class’ and VLEC vessels facilitate transoceanic trade of surplus US ethane. On March 9, 1776, the Scottish economist Adam Smith published his influential book The Wealth of Nations , which has left an indelible mark on international trade ever since. Interestingly, exactly 240 years later a pioneering liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier departed a Philadelphia-area terminal bound for Europe and opened a new chapter in the global gas business. Laden with more than 27,000 cubic meters of ethane, the Ineos Intrepid – a new class of LNG vessel – embarked on a nearly 4,000-mile voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to Ineos’ ethane cracker in Rafnes, Norway. As Ineos noted at the time , never before had shale gas produced in the United States been shipped to Europe. Previously ethane had only been transported in small vessels on short routes, according to ship designer Evergas . The Ineos Intrepid is […]