GTT: orders up, revenue up, Chinese shipyards to add LNGC slots

French multinational manufacturer of membrane-based liquefied gas containment systems Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) is expecting a near-term shipyard capacity increase led by Chinese yards that will take available slots set aside for LNG carrier (LNGC) newbuilds to 85 by early 2026.

In a quarterly earnings call, GTT chief executive Jean-Baptiste Choimet gave an estimate of LNG supply growth between now and 2029, comparing demand with extant fleet and ships-on-order numbers to give a picture of market growth over the next four to five years.

"To transport the additional 175M tonnes per annum these projects currently under construction will add to the LNG market by 2029, approximately 285 LNG carriers will be needed. Following Q3 orders, around 200 ships have already been secured, leaving up to 85 more ships required in the near future," Mr Choimet said.

GTT said shipyards have been increasing available slots to accommodate the historic expansion in the segment, and the pace of expansion is growing, "mainly due to the ramping up of Chinese shipyards".

From 2020 through 2024, shipyards have added around 15 slots for newbuild LNGCs, but GTT expects that number to increase to around 85 slots by early 2026. And GTT said the expansion may well continue.

"We believe the number of slots could keep rising. An additional benefit of this increased capacity is the potential expansion of the replacement market as any available slots could be used for this purpose," Mr Choimet said.

The GTT chief executive noted any events that caused a slowdown in supply chain manufacturing could limit the expansion of shipyard capacity and said his company is "vigilant" in its oversight of its own approved suppliers, both in terms of quality control and capacity planning.

In the year to date, Mr Choimet said GTT has received, among its 80 orders, containment system orders for 68 new LNGCs along with eight for what will be the world’s largest ethane carriers.

"After pioneering the VLEC, the very large ethane careers, we are once again leading the way with the ULEC, the ultra-large ethane carriers. These carriers, with a capacity of 150,000 m³, are made possible by GTT’s Mark III membrane technology, which enables a lighter overall ship weight," Mr Choimet said.

Mr Choimet took on the role of GTT chief executive in June 2024, when long-serving chief executive and still chairman Philippe Berterottière stepped into the role of group president.