By Stephen Stapczynski and Anna Shiryaevskaya (Bloomberg)
An unprecedented shortage of liquefied natural gas tankers has made them the most expensive ships ever hired to ferry commodities.
Spot rates have more than tripled in the past month, with BP Plc last week paying $350,000 a day to charter an LNG tanker to pick up a cargo from the U.S. The previous high for any kind of commodity carrier was set in late 2019 when a crude supertanker was booked for daily earnings of $308,000, according to data compiled by Clarkson Research Services Ltd., a unit of the world’s biggest shipbroker.
Bullish factors have struck the LNG shipping market: robust Asian spot gas demand in a cold winter, record-high exports from U.S. projects and perhaps most importantly delays to traverse the Panama Canal. Vessels have been forced to take longer routes to Asia, increasing transport time and significantly curbing the amount of available vessels in the Atlantic.
Bullish factors have struck the LNG shipping market: robust Asian spot gas demand in a cold winter, record-high exports from U.S. projects and perhaps most importantly delays to traverse the Panama Canal.
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LNG Shipbuilders See Influx of Orders as Year Comes to an End
Two of Asia’s leading shipbuilders saw an influx of orders for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers this month, capping an otherwise slow year for newbuilds.
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co. Ltd. (KSOE) said in a regulatory filing last week that it landed various contracts to build nine LNG carriers. KSOE is scheduled to deliver one vessel to a Panamanian shipping company in 2024, while another two ships will be delivered to a buyer in Bermuda in 2023. KSOE subsidiary Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries will build the ships.
KSOE announced other deals earlier last week to build six more LNG vessels for two undisclosed companies.