China Merchants Energy Transportation (CMET) has secured long-term charter deals for three LNG carrier newbuildings it has on order in China.
In a regulatory filing, CMET said its subsidiary company CMES LNG Carrier Investment (CMES LNG) has signed charter deals for up to 30-years charter Singapore-based Sinochem Petroleum Shipping (Sinochem Oil Shipping) for three of the four 175,000-cbm LNG carriers it is building at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co (DSIC).
CMET said the charters will begin when delivery of the vessels begins in the second half of 2025 and in 2026, and the total value of the contract in valued at $2.5bn.
CMET was the shipping company that helped state-owned DSIC make its debut into the LNG carrier segment in April this year. The Chinese owner inked two firm vessels plus options for two additional ships for a reported price of at least $200m per ship.
The gas carriers are being built with GTT’s Mark III Flex membrane-type containment systems and will be installed with the latest LNG dual-fuel low-speed main engine.
CMES said the signing of the charter contracts with Sinochem Oil Shipping will support the growth of its LNG carrier fleet.
Sinochem Oil Shipping is a subsidiary of Sinochem Energy Co – a unit of Chinese state-owned Sinochem Group.
Sinochem signed a long-term LNG supply deal with Cheniere Energy in November 2021. It agreed to buy an initial volume of around 0.9m tonnes of LNG starting in July of 2022, with the volume set to increase to 1.8m tonnes for each of the subsequent 17-and-half years.
