John Fredriksen-controlled Flex LNG has secured a fresh extension to an existing charter on one of its LNG carriers, which will see the vessel booked through until early 2032.
Flex LNG said the charterer of the 173,400-cbm Flex Endeavour (built 2018) — which was previously reported as Cheniere Marketing International — has exercised an option to extend the firm hire period by 500 days.
This extends the charter from the third quarter of 2030 to the first three months of 2032. No rate details were given.
Flex said the charterer is sitting on one further optional period that allows it to extend the hire by an additional year into 2033.
Cheniere Marketing — the ship chartering arm of US LNG producer Cheniere Energy — took up the two one-year optional periods on three Flex LNG carriers, the Flex Endeavour and the 174,000-cbm Flex Vigilant (built 2021) and Flex Ranger (built 2018) in November 2022.
In August, Cheniere declared its first option period for the Flex Vigilant, which extended the firm charter period on the vessel by an additional 200 days into the second quarter of 2031.
The Flex Ranger is due to fall open at the end of the first quarter of 2027 as there were no optional periods on this vessel.
Speaking about the latest charter extension, Flex LNG chief executive Oystein Kalleklev said: “We are glad to share another contract extension, bringing the total to three so far this year.”
Kalleklev said Flex LNG has added about 4.4 years of additional firm contract backlog while consuming about 3.6 years, putting it at a slight surplus.
“With this extension, our total firm backlog stands at a solid 51 years, which may increase to 69 years in the event charterers are utilising all their extension options.”
The charter extension for Flex LNG comes as rates and enquiries for LNG carriers hit seasonal lows in a particularly quiet market.
