BW LNG has bought two of Stena Bulk’s three LNG carriers after the Swedish owner launched a sale of its gas shipping business assets last year.
The Singapore and Oslo-based shipowner said it has acquired the two 174,000-cbm, tri-fuel diesel-electric vessels, which are now Singapore-flagged and renamed BW ENN Crystal Sky (ex-Stena Crystal Sky) and BW Clear Sky (ex-Stena Clear Sky, both built 2011).
It has not revealed how much it paid for the vessels. Brokers priced the 13-year-old duo at around $145m each.
Stena Bulk floated its three ice-class, winterised LNG carriers and its LNG technology business unit Stena Power & LNG Solutions for sale in June 2023, with the package valued at around $500m.
The sale of the two larger ships leaves the 18-year-old, 145,800-cbm steam ship Stena Blue Sky (built 2006) unsold, along with Stena Bulk’s technology arm, which has developed a range of offshore solutions for transferring, storing, processing and regasifying LNG and other fuels.
The Stena Blue Sky’s charter to Cheniere Energy is due to expire in the second quarter of 2024.
BW LNG said the sister ships, built at Hanwha Ocean — formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering — will be delivered directly into their ongoing charters.
The BW Clear Sky is fixed to France’s TotalEnergies on a charter that runs to 2027. The BW ENN Crystal Sky is chartered out to China’s ENN Natural Gas until 2032.
“The sister LNG carriers represent excellent versatility and capability for trading, in addition to potential conversion into floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) in the future,” BW LNG said, adding that the vessels offer high cargo capacity and provide solid flexibility with their retrofitted subcooler-systems.
The double buy boosts BW LNG’s owned fleet to 34 vessels, including four FSRUs and four newbuildings under construction.
“This is an interesting growth opportunity for us; acquiring high-specification vessels on the water with solid charters to existing key clients,” executive vice president Petter Lindvig Larsson said.
“In BW LNG, we are committed to developing strategic floating LNG infrastructure to accelerate the global transition towards a low carbon society.”
Stena Bulk chief executive Erik Hanell said: “As part of our strategy to continuously look for new opportunities, Stena Bulk took the decision some time ago to sell Stena Crystal Sky and Stena Clear Sky.
“We are pleased to have been able to find a solid buyer in BW LNG...
“Following the sale of these two vessels, we have one LNG tanker — the Stena Blue Sky — still in our control.
“We will continue to be pragmatic about Stena Blue Sky and the opportunities that slightly rationalising our fleet will bring. This news enables us to continue to build bridges towards a new era for Stena Bulk and our fleet.”
