LNG Shipping & Terminal’s editor Craig Jallal reviews the highlights emerging in the LNG shipping industry in 2023
LNG carrier fleet breaches the 1,000-vessel mark
With 709 LNG carriers in the water (live or launched) in 2023, and a further 373 LNG carriers on the orderbook, the LNG carrier fleet will surpass 1,000 vessels sometime in the near future.
To put this into perspective, according to Clarksons Research Services data, in 2019 the total capacity of the LNG carrier fleet was 89M m3 – by 1 November 2023, the fleet capacity grew to 110M m3.
Factoring in the orderbook and assuming all the vessels on order to 2025 and beyond are delivered, the LNG carrier fleet will have a capacity of 170M m3.
Nearly every week in 2023 there has been a report of new LNG carrier orders – in May 2023, more than US$2Bn in gas carrier newbuilding orders were reported in just one week, when South Korean shipbuilding giant HHI clinched major LNG contracts to build 12 gas carriers worth about ₩2.8Tn (US$2.1Bn).
Speaking at the LNG Shipping & Terminals Conference 2023 in London in November 2023, Howe Robinson Partners senior broker Debbie Turner said, “Almost 50% of the LNG fleet is on the orderbook – something we have never seen, which is brilliant.”
Shipyard demand remains strong, she said, with limited slots available at South Korean yards in 2027 and Qatar is in its second phase of ordering.
“Prices have gone up phenomenally, we’ve gone from US$170M and US$180M a couple of years ago to around US$260M to US$262M for a newbuild (in South Korea), with China only slightly lower, but the demand continues,” said Ms Turner.
There is still the promise of the next phase of the QatarEnergy LNG tonnage, which is expected to require 40 newbuilding slots across the big three South Korean shipyards (as reportedby BRL Weekly Newbuilding Contracts).
Currently, the allocation has received preliminary approval, with Samsung (16), Hanwha (14), and Hyundai (10) being the selected shipyards.
LNG Shipping & Terminals conference
The LNG Shipping & Terminals Conference 2023 in London in November 2023, was a great success, with active participation from speakers and delegates.
Passing on experience was a major theme – Dhamra LNG terminal in India chief executive Satinder-Pal Singh gave a detailed breakdown of why the terminal was located on the east coast and the technical challenges the development faced, but it was his insights into considerations for future projects that carried the added-value.
Passing on experience from a safety angle was also extremely valuable, with Milford-Haven-based Dragon LNG terminal managing director Simon Ames passing on a Safety Flash to the delegates.
First LNG STS
November 2023 also saw the first-ever LNG ship-to-ship transfer (STS), when India’s state-owned natural gas firm GAIL’s chartered-in vessel Castillo De Santisteban performed an STS, transferring LNG cargo to another chartered vessel, QatarGas’ Al Gharrafa.
The cargo was sourced from an exporter in the United States and the 54-day journey saw the cargo shipped via the Suez Canal and Gibraltar.
GAIL claimed the STS transfer has saved about 8,736 nautical miles, equivalent to 7,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and halved the voyage duration for its chartered vessel from 54 days to 27 days. The optimised gain for GAIL in this charter exceeded US$1M.
Gastech 2023
This year, Gastech 2023 took place in Singapore, and it was a great opportunity to meet well-established suppliers to the industry such as Trelleborg Marine and Infrastructure, and to meet new ones.
In an interview on the LNG Shipping & Terminals stand at Gastech, FueLNG general manager Saunak Rai explained the history of the company and its role in the LNG bunkering space.
From a sea career, to Maersk, and to welcoming a second LNG bunkering vessel, Mr Rai has had a remarkable journey, too.
LNG shipping and carbon capture and storage
One new theme in 2023 was carbon capture and storage on LNG carriers.
In September 2023, 2008-built, 165,500-m3 capacity LNG carrier Seapeak Arwa has been fitted with the EverLoNG carbon capture storage (CCS) system.
Owned and managed by Malt LNG, this LNG carrier is chartered to project partner TotalEnergies and will play a crucial role in the ambitious EverLoNG Onboard Carbon Capture Storage Pilot project.
The carbon capture unit was built by Carbotreat, a Netherlands-based carbon capture service provider, as part of the ongoing EverLoNG project, which aims to accelerate ship-based carbon capture.
CO2 and CCS are likely to play a leading role in LNG shipping in 2024.
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