Flex LNG to ring in new year with newbuild

In a social media post, Flex LNG reported the LNG carrier Flex Freedom will be equipped with two high-pressure compressors and a full reliquefaction system “resulting in a boil-off rate of only 0.035% per day which is particularly valuable for cargo owners given the high gas prices today and always valuable for the environment.”

With 10 vessels in its operational fleet, Flex Freedom is one of three newbuildings Flex LNG will add in the new year. Newbuild Flex Volunteer is due for delivery in February 2021, followed by Flex Vigilant in May 2021. Both of the vessels are under construction at South Korea’s Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

MAN Energy Solution’s two-stroke, high-pressure dual-fuel ME-GI engine will be fitted in Flex Freedom, and both Flex Volunteer and Flex Vigilant will be equipped with WinGD low-pressure, two-stroke Otto-cycle X-DF propulsion. LNG carriers on the spot market with either type of dual-fuel engine are attracting strong charter rates.

Weakened by Covid-19 in Q2 and Q3 2020, spot LNG carrier headline freight rates per day for vessels with MEGI and X-DF propulsion exceeded US$100,000 per day in Q4 2020.

For Q3 2020, Flex LNG reported three of its vessels are on fixed-hire time charters, three on variable hire time charters, and four on the spot market. It reported 98% of available days in Q4 2020 were booked with an expected time charter equivalent of US$70,000 to US$75,000 per day.