Greek shipowner GasLog Ltd’s newest 180,000-m3 LNG carrier GasLog Wales will be delivered soon from South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries
In a recent brief social media post, GasLog said the vessel, Hull No 2274, with WinGD X-DF propulsion, had completed its sea trials.
The newbuild is one of 35 LNG carriers in GasLog’s consolidated fleet. Of these vessels, 19 (12 on the water and seven on order) are owned by GasLog, one has been sold to a subsidiary of Japan’s Mitsui & Co Ltd and leased back to GasLog under a long-term bareboat charter and the remaining 15 LNG carriers are owned by the company’s subsidiary, GasLog Partners.
“Our orderbook of new LNG carriers has staggered delivery dates, facilitating a smooth integration of the ships into our fleet as well as significant annual growth through 2021,” said GasLog in a filing. “This has the additional advantage of spreading our exposure to the re-delivery of these ships over several years upon expiration of their current charters. Each of our 28 owned and bareboat LNG carriers and seven LNG carriers under construction is designed with a capacity of between approximately 145,000 m3 and 180,000 m3. We believe this size range maximises their operational flexibility as these ships are compatible with most existing LNG terminals around the world.”
GasLog also said having vessels of similar specifications also allows the company to benefit from economies of scale and operating efficiencies in ship construction, crew training, crew rotation and shared spare parts.
GasLog said when it takes delivery of its last vessel under its current newbuild programme, its “owned and bareboat fleet will have an average age of 7 years, making it one of the youngest in the industry. By comparison, as of 31 December 2019, the average age for the global trading LNG carrier fleet including LNG carriers of all sizes, was 10 years.”
GasLog operates its vessels primarily under term charters of one year or longer with six vessels, of which one is owned by GasLog Partners, currently trading in the spot and short-term market.
As of 31 December 2019, these contracts are expected to provide total contracted revenues of US$4.0Bn during their initial terms, which expire between 2020 and 2032. During 2019, 2018 and 2017, GasLog generated revenues of US$668.6M, US$618.3M and US$525.2M, respectively.
GasLog technically manages and owns a 25% interest in Methane Nile Eagle, a 2007-built LNG carrier operating under a 20-year time charter to MSL.
Its current time charters have initial terms of up to 12 years and include options that permit the charterers to extend the terms for successive periods under hire rate provisions.
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