The global LNG fleet is heading for the 800 vessels mark from the current 700 ships with South Korean shipyard Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) being the latest to receive a $850 million order for four newbuilds from Qatar.
The orders are increasing to keep pace with LNG and demand liquefaction plant expansion by nations such as Qatar and the US.
DSME, the world's No. 4 shipbuilder by order backlog, said it would build the vessels with 174,000 cubic metres of capacity at the Okpo shipyard on the south coast and deliver them by the first half of 2025.
The order is the first result of a $19 billion contract that DSME and two other Korean shipbuilders, Hyundai Heavy Industries and Samsung Heavy Industries, have signed with QatarEnergy to construct scores of LNG vessels through 2027.
The contract is in line with Qatar's plan to boost its LNG production capacity to 126 million tonnes per annum by 2027 from the current 77 million tons.
Analysts said that DSME's order is widely expected to lead to the securing of more orders for LNG carriers by the three major Korean shipbuilders.
DSME won $4 billion in orders in the first quarter of 2022, including eight LNG carriers, six containerships, one offshore platform and one depot maintenance order.
The six containerships ordered had a specification for dual-fuel capability.
Among the LNG shipping companies ordering the newbuilds in the first quarter was GasLog Ltd, the Greek LNG shipping firm.
GasLog is currently expanding its fleet ordered four newbuild 174,000 cubic metres capacity vessels for delivery in 2024 and 2025.
The yard added that the GasLog ships would also be equipped with the latest generation M-type Electronically Controlled, Gas Injection (ME-GI) propulsion system.
They would also fitting a more advanced re-liquefaction system.
Last year 68 LNG newbuilds were delivered compared with 47 LNG ships in 2020.
The global LNG fleet consisted of 700 vessels at the start of 2022 and is now headed for 800 in the next two or three years.
The current total includes 48 floating storage and regasification units that can act as import terminals. Total cargo capacity in 2022 was more than 105 million cubic metres.
The average spot charter rate for a 160,000 cubic metres LNG carrier stood at around $89,200 per day last year compared with $59,300 per day in the previous year.
