Exmar LPG has struck a newbuilding deal with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) for up to four 46,000-cbm midsize gas carrier (MGC) newbuildings.
The order is for two firm vessels plus options for an additional pair of ships.
Jens Ismar, executive director of Exmar, confirmed the deal at the South Korean shipyard, adding that the firm newbuildings would be LPG dual-fuelled vessels.
“If we are to declare the option ships, they might be ammonia dual-fuel but that is not decided yet,” he said.
TradeWinds was told the vessels form part of the company’s fleet-replacement and expansion programme.
“We are the biggest operator for MGCs and we have sold some older ships,” Ismar said.
The newbuildings that Exmar LPG — a joint venture between Exmar and Seapeak, the company formerly named Teekay LNG Partners — has signed up for are larger MGCs than the standard 40,000-cbm vessel that HMD has been contracting.
Ismar also confirmed the 46,000-cbm newbuildings are an upgraded design of HMD’s existing MGCs.
“These newbuildings are larger but it included the bunker tank,” Ismar said. “If you look at the history of Exmar, the company always strives to improve [a] vessel’s design and optimise the ship.
“We think it is the right thing to do and certainly it is the right time. It is important to stay ahead and be innovative.”
Exmar did not disclose the price of the newbuildings but the company is believed to be paying slightly more than $67m per vessel.
The Ulsan-based shipyard is scheduled to deliver the firm newbuildings in November 2024 and February 2025.
Exmar’s website lists the company with a fleet of 20 MGCs, of which 17 are joint-ventured vessels. Some 79% of the fleet is committed to employment contracts.
VesselsValue shows Exmar sold four MGCs in the last 12 months.
It offloaded the Hyundai-built Bastogne (built 2002) to an unnamed buyer for at least $19.4m last month and the Mitsubishi-constructed, 38,961-cbm Eupen (built 1999) to Turkey’s PascoGas for $16m.
The other two vessels — the 39,270-cbm Touraine (built 1996) and 35,454-cbm Brussels (built 1997) — were sold during the last quarter of 2021. The sales price was not disclosed.
In April, Exmar said the world’s MGC fleet was reaching a historic high but the corresponding capacity growth was expected to accommodate increasing LPG transportation needs that would emerge mainly out of the US and the Middle East.
