Owners of large and small LNG fleets await deliveries of newbuilds from yards as global shipping expands
Owners of large and small LNG carrier fleets are maintaining robust order books with the latest ship to be delivered being for shipowner Minerva Gas along with four other vessels for various owners that emerged from the shipyards in June.
Greek shipping line Minerva has just taken delivery of the 173,400 cubic metres capacity carrier, the “Minerva Limnos”, from South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering.
The vessel left DSME's Geoje shipyard on June 30. The “Minerva Limnos” features M-type electronically controlled, Gas injection (ME-GI) propulsion, a No. 96 GW LNG containment system from GTT and a PRS-FRS re-liquefaction system.
The vessel is flying the Malta flag and is classed by European classification society DNV.
“We wish to convey to the Master, Chief Engineer and all Officers and ratings of ‘Minerva Limnos’ our warmest congratulations and wholehearted wishes for safe, smooth and prosperous voyages and calm seas,” said a statement from Athens-based Minerva.
Off Japan
The new Minerva carrier was shown in latest shipping data as being just off the coast of Japan and was expected to head for the Panama Canal before lifting its maiden cargo in the Atlantic Basin.
The vessel delivery brings Minerva's LNG fleet numbers to three carriers, following deliveries of two vessels in January and February 2021.
The shipowner has ordered two further carriers, both of 174,000 cubic metres capacity, the “Minerva Chios” to be delivered in the weeks ahead and its sister ship, the “Minerva Amorgos” to be handed over by August 2022.
The four other LNG carriers delivered from shipyards in June were for Danish owner Celsius Shipping and Greek owners Alpha Gas, Gaslog and Capital Gas.
The expectations of growing shipping demand in the LNG market is supported by the lengthening of shipping routes on the
ramp-up of export capacity from the United States and Russia.
The bulk of additional sanctioned liquefaction capacity entering the market will be in the 2021-2024 period.
At the end of 2020 as many as 150 LNG vessels were on order, which represents a quarter of the active carrier fleet, excluding floating storage and regasification units.
Of these, nearly 60 ships are scheduled for delivery in 2021, adding close to 10 million cubic metres of capacity, an 11 percent year-on-year increase.
The market entry of the remaining 15 million cubic metres of capacity on order is spread across the period between 2022 and 2025.
BW Group continues to expand LNG carrier fleet with newbuild delivered from Daewoo yard in Korea
BW LNG, the ship-owning subsidiary of Singapore-based BW Group, has taken delivery of the newbuild “BW Helios” with 174,000 cubic metres capacity from Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering in South Korea.
The carrier, which will sail under a term charter with UK major BP, is the second LNG carrier to join BW LNG's fleet so far this year, after the 174,000 cubic metres capacity “BW Lesmes” was delivered by DSME in March.
BW LNG has a further two carriers remaining on its orderbook, the 174,000 cubic metres capacity “BW Iris” and same-sized “BW Cassia”, which are due for delivery in August-September 2022.
The BW Group has main offices in Bermuda, Singapore and Norway with a fleet of around 400 vessels, including 26 LNG carriers, 159 liquefied petroleum gas vessels and 160 products tankers.
A total of three new LNG carriers have joined the BW global LNG fleet so far in May, with Greek owners TMS Cardiff Gas and Alpha Gas each receiving a carrier earlier this month.
A further three carriers are scheduled to join the global fleet by the end of the month, with Danish owner Celsius, Norwegian firm Flex LNG and Japanese owner NYK Lines all due to pick up a single carrier.
LNG carrier deliveries are expected to slow from the third quarter, with 12 scheduled for both the third and fourth quarters of this year, before slowing further in 2022-2023.
In other activities in mid-May 20121, BW Group said a $128.3 million financial package was arranged to help fund a converted floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) as part of a gas-for-power project in the Latin American nation of El Salvador.
The financial package has a 15-year contractual term. The funds provide resources for the purchase and conversion of the “BW Tatiana” LNG carrier to an FSRU.
This is the region's first FSRU, which will be permanently moored at the Port of Acajutla in El Salvador.
BW LNG is developing the project with Invenergy, a multinational power generation and operations company.
Invenergy and BW LNG will jointly commission, operate and maintain the FSRU.
