June 29 (LNGJ) - Cool Company (CoolCo), the LNG shipping joint venture led by Eastern Pacific Shipping, has exercised an option to acquire two newbuild LNG carriers for its growing fleet of 28 ships from affiliates of Eastern Pacific. The newbuilds with 174,000 cubic metres capacity will be named “Kool Tiger” and “Kool Panther” and are scheduled for delivery from Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries in South Korea in September and December of 2024.
The company said the newbuilds are being acquired under the pre-existing purchase option price of around $234 million per ship. CoolCo's vessels include a managed fleet of 17 ships and an owned fleet of 11 vessels. “With the vast majority of the global LNG carrier orderbook already committed to liquefaction projects coming online in the years ahead, few, if any, modern LNG carriers are expected to be available for time charter employment during the late 2024 window,” said CoolCo Chief Executive Richard Tyrrell.
