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Nigeria LNG turns to China for newbuildings
Nigeria LNG is in advanced negotiations with Hudong Zhonghua for mid-scale LNG carriers, signalling renewed fleet modernisation against a subdued global orderbook
Nigeria LNG Ltd is negotiating three 74,000-m³ LNG carriers with China’s Hudong Zhonghua Shipbuilding, with options for three additional vessels, in a fresh phase of its fleet modernisation programme, according to BRL’s latest newbuilding report.
The ships are expected to deliver from 2029 and will trade under Nigeria LNG subsidiary Bonny Gas Transport.
The prospective contracts come against the backdrop of an LNG carrier segment that remains heavily committed on forward capacity.
Clarksons data for large LNG carriers (40,000 m³ and above) showed a fleet of 779 vessels and an orderbook of 278 units, equivalent to about 36% of the fleet in numerical terms and just under 40% on a capacity basis.
While the orderbook stayed elevated, new contracting in 2025 has slowed sharply.
Clarksons estimated orders for large LNG carriers in the first 10 months of the year totalled 3.1M m³, a fall of 76% year-on-year, with gas carrier contracting across the board about 56% below the 10-year average in capacity terms.
In that context, Nigeria LNG’s move to add a series of mid-scale units at Hudong would represent a relatively rare addition to this year’s LNG carrier intake.
More broadly, global newbuild activity has moderated from 2024’s exceptional pace.
Across all vessel types, 1,392 ships of 94.8M dwt and 37.9M compensated gross tonnage (cgt) were reported ordered in January–October 2025, down 45% in dwt and 43% in cgt terms year-on-year, although broadly aligned with the 10-year average.
Nevertheless, the orderbook at the start of November 2025 remained high at 6,246 ships of 405.1M dwt, around 16% of the fleet, with LNG carriers among the segments showing the highest orderbook-to-fleet ratios.
Chinese yards were central to this picture and accounted for 59% of global contracting in cgt terms in the year to October 2025 and held 61% of the world orderbook by cgt, underlining their position as the dominant provider of new capacity across bulk, tanker, container and gas segments.
Hudong Zhonghua featured among the leading LNG carrier builders, with a multi-year backlog of large gas tonnage extending into the latter part of the decade.
BRL added that more LNG carriers are expected to be ordered by Nigeria LNG as part of its wider fleet modernisation effort.
Any follow-on tonnage would further reinforce both China’s role in LNG newbuilding and the still-significant forward exposure of the global LNG carrier sector.
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