Peter Livanos-controlled shipowner GasLog has locked away three of its LNG carriers on term charter deals.
In a first-quarter results statement, the company said it had inked a two-year time charter for the 155,000-cbm GasLog Singapore (built 2010) with US-listed New Fortress Energy.
GasLog said energy major Shell declared its option and extended its charter of the 174,000-cbm GasLog Geneva (built 2016) by five years until 2028. This vessel is listed in GasLog Partnership’s fleet.
After the end of the first quarter, GasLog said Shell also took up its option on a five-year extension of its charter on the 174,000-cbm GasLog Gibraltar (built 2016), which will now also expire in 2028.
The company confirmed the reported sale of its 145,000-cbm steamship GasLog Athens (built 2006). It logged a loss of $9.3m on the vessel as of 31 March. The sale is expected to be completed on the redelivery of the ship from its current charter.
GasLog also wrapped up two sale and lease-back deals on tri-fuel diesel-electric vessels.
The first of these was on its 155,000-cbm GasLog Sydney (built 2013), which was sold and bareboated back for five years to China Development Bank Leasing (CDBL) with no repurchase obligation for $140m. The company logged $0.8m in write downs and losses on the sale.
On 30 March, GasLog said it completed the sale and lease-back of the 155,000-cbm GasLog Saratoga (built 2014) under a similar deal with CDBL. The company detailed $6.7m of write-downs and losses on a ship sale.
GasLog reiterated that its planned purchase of US-listed GasLog Partnership is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2023.
GasLog’s first-quarter profit fell to $45m, down from $71.1m in the same period of 2022.
The company said this was mainly attributable to derivative losses and higher financial costs due to higher interest rates year on year.
But revenue for the first three months of 2023 inched up to $231.3m from $213.7m in the first quarter of last year.
The company said the rise was mainly due to its vessels operating in the spot and short-term markets in the first quarter under time charters secured in 2022. It said the increase was partially offset by off-hire days due to the scheduled dry-dockings and the sale of the 145,000-cbm Methane Shirley Elisabeth (built 2007) in the third quarter of 2022.
GasLog said there were 2,908 available trading days for its vessels in the first quarter, compared with 3,150 in the same period of 2022, with the decrease due to its ship sale, scheduled dry-dockings and the conversion of one of its vessels into the floating storage and regasification unit Alexandroupoli that started in February 2023.
As of 11 May, GasLog’s owned fleet numbered 11 LNG carriers comprising one steam turbine ship, three tri-fuel diesel-electric vessels with the rest fitted with X-DF propulsion systems.
GasLog now lists six vessels under its bareboat chartered fleet.
The company has four ME-GI LNG newbuildings on order at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering for delivery dates in 2024 and 2025, all of which are chartered out for periods from 2031 to 2035.
GasLog Partnership’s fleet list consists of 11 comprising three steamships with the balance being tri-fuel diesel-electric vessels plus three bareboat chartered LNG carriers.
