An LNG carrier is a tank ship designed for transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG). Overview The first oceangoing liquified natural gas tanker in the world was Methane Pioneer, which entered service in 1959 with a carrying capacity of 5,500 cubic metres (190,000 cu ft). LNG carriers of increasing size have been built since then, leading to the fleet of today, where giant Q-Max LNG ships sail worldwide that can each carry up to . A boom in U.S. natural gas production was enabled by hydraulic fracturing ("fracking"), creating large growth in natural gas production from 2010. The first U.S. LNG export facility was completed in 2016, with more following. The increasing supply of natural gas in the U.S. and export facilities expanded the demand for LNG carriers, to transport LNG around the world. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine dramatically increased the demand for LNG shipping worldwide. U.S. shipments to Europe more than doubled in 2022, to 2.7 trillion cubic feet. History The first LNG carrier Methane Pioneer () carrying , classed by Bureau Veritas, left the Calcasieu River on the Louisiana Gulf coast on 25 January 1959. Carrying the world's first ocean cargo of LNG, it sailed to the UK where the cargo was delivered. The success of the specially modified C1-M-AV1-type standard ship Normarti, renamed Methane Pioneer, caused the Gas Council and Conch International Methane Ltd. to order two purpose built LNG carriers to be constructed: Methane Princess and Methane Progress. The ships were fitted with Conch independent aluminum cargo tanks and entered the Algerian LNG trade in 1964. These ships had a capacity of . In the late 1960s, opportunity arose to export LNG from Alaska to Japan, and in 1969 that trade with TEPCO and Tokyo Gas was initiated. Two ships, Polar Alaska and Arctic Tokyo, each with a capacity of , were built in Sweden. In the early 1970s, the US government encouraged US shipyards to build LNG carriers, and a total of 16 LNG ships were built. The late 1970s and early 1980s brought the prospect of Arctic LNG ships with a number of projects being studied. With the increase in cargo capacity to approximately costing $250 million, new tank designs were developed, from Moss Rosenberg to Technigaz Mark III and Gaztransport No.96. The size and capacity of LNG carriers has increased significantly, to . A vessel could cost $200 million. Since 2005, Qatargas