LNG

European and Asian liquefied natural gas prices and futures surged again as Israel targeted military assets in Iran overnight with a wider Middle East conflict threatening LNG cargo deliveries from Qatar as departures were lower this week because of shipping security as well as weather issues.

Flex LNG, the Norwegian shipping company with a fleet of 13 vessels and several chartered to some of the largest market players, reported a halving of fourth-quarter net profits and forecast a challenging next two years for the sector with more ships in the global fleet.

“We see a somewhat more challenging freight market as there are more ships for delivery compared to the expected new export volumes,” said Øystein Kalleklev, Chief Executive of Flex LNG Management whose charterers include Cheniere of the US and UK major BP.

“Hence, we think Flex LNG is very well positioned as we have 94 percent charter coverage for 2024 and 50 years minimum firm charter backlog, which may increase to 71 years if all charterer’s options are extended,” Kalleklev explained.

Fuel savings

“Additionally, our fleet consists entirely of large LNG carriers fitted with the most modern two-stroke propulsion system resulting in significant fuel savings compared to older generation tonnage,” the CEO added.

Flex earnings showed a halving of fourth-quarter net income to $19.39 million from $41.47M in the same three months of 2022.

Annual net profits dropped to $120.04M from $188.04M in the 2022. Vessel operating revenues in 2023 came to $371.02M versus $347.91M in the previous year.

“The increase is due to a higher proportion of our fleet on improved longer term fixed-rate contracts as well as a relatively stronger spot market compared to 2022,” said Kalleklev.

“This is offset by scheduled dry-dockings of the vessels ‘Flex Enterprise’, ‘Flex Endeavour,’ ‘Flex Ranger’ and ‘Flex Rainbow’ in 2023, resulting in 77 off-hire days,” the CEO said.

Vessel expenses for the fourth quarter came to $97.2M compared with $94.6M for the third quarter 2023.

Average Time Charter Equivalent (TCE) rates amounted to $81,114 per day for the fourth quarter versus $79,207 per day for the third quarter 2023.

Revenues

“We guided that our revenues would increase from $348M in 2022 to approximately $370M in 2023 and we delivered revenues of $371M in 2023, while revenues for the fourth quarter came in at $97.2M in line with quarterly guidance,” Kalleklev stated.

In an overview the LNG fright market, Flex noted that there were 630 live ships in the fleet at the end of 2023, with 210 steamers still in service.

“An additional 33 newbuilds were added to the fleet last year while 68 newbuild orders were placed, representing a significant decrease from the 145 orders in 2022 and 69 newbuilds are scheduled to be delivered in 2024, with seven uncommitted for long-term contracts,” Flex said.

Flex also stated that newbuild prices for the base specifications have “somewhat tapered off” from the peak of $265M, with ship brokers quoting $258M to 262M as of early February 2024.

April 23 (LNGJ) - Shipping charter rates for LNG carriers in the spot market increased for West Of Suez by around $7,000 per day to average between $62,000 per day and $58,000 per day for vessels of 155,000-165,000 cubic metres capacity. In the East of Suez charter market average rates rose by around $9,000 per day to between $52,000 per day and $48,000 per day, according to various brokers. One-year charter rates for the most modern vessels also increased to around $66,000 per day.

Dec 31 (LNGJ) - Shipping charter rates for LNG carriers in the spot market were firm as Northern Hemisphere winter market demand increased. Rates were quoted at an average of between $158,000 per day and $162,0000 per day West of Suez. Spot rates of $148,000 to 152,000 were heard for the East of Suez charter market for vessels of between 155,000-165,000 cubic metres capacity, according to various brokers. One-year time charters were also little changed for the most modern vessels and were available for around $47,000 per day.

Dec 10 (LNGJ) - Shipping charter rates for LNG carriers in the spot market edged higher as Northern Hemisphere winter market demand increased. Rates were quoted at an average of between $112,000 per day and $118,000 per day West of Suez. The same levels of spot rates were also heard for the East of Suez charter market for vessels of between 155,000-165,000 cubic metres capacity, according to various brokers. One-year time charters were also little changed for the most modern vessels and were available for around $47,000 per day.

Nov 12 (LNGJ) - Shipping charter rates for LNG carriers in the spot market rose in the past week as the Northern Hemisphere winter market demand continued to be firm. Brokers said the rates increase by up to $9,500 per day.

   Rates were quoted at an average of between $109,000 per day and $115,000 per day West of Suez. The same levels of spot rates were also talked about for the East of Suez charter market for vessels of between 155,000-165,000 cubic metres capacity, according to various brokers.

Nov 5 (LNGJ) - Shipping charter rates for LNG carriers in the spot market slipped in the past week by up to $7,500 per day. Rates were quoted at an average of between $97,000 per day and $102,000 per day West of Suez. The same levels of spot rates were also talked about for the East of Suez charter market for vessels of between 155,000-165,000 cubic metres capacity, according to various brokers.

June 11 (LNGJ) - Shipping charter rates for LNG carriers in the spot market are little changed over the past week. Rates were quoted at an average of between $33,000 per day and $31,000 per day West of Suez and at rates of between $31,000 per day and $29,000 per day East of Suez for vessels of between 155,000-165,000 cubic metres capacity, according to various brokers. One-year time charters were steady for the most modern vessels and were seen at rates of around $43,000 per day.

March 12 (LNGJ) - Shipping charter rates for LNG carriers in the spot market have levelled off and are little changed from a week ago. Rates were again quoted at an average of between $39,000 per day and $34,000 per day West of Suez and $38,000 per day and $33,000 per day East of Suez for vessels of between 155,000-165,000 cubic metres capacity, according to various brokers. One-year time charters have dropped for vessels of between 155,000-160,000 cubic metres capacity and are now seen at around $55,000 per day.

Flex LNG, the growing shipping company with six vessels operating and seven others on order and whose largest shareholder is a company controlled by Norwegian magnate John Fredriksen, has entered into a new time charter in what is its second deal in a month.