Neu Gas Shipping International is considering fresh options in the VLGC market.
The Hamburg-based company operates with a single VLGC, having sold five under the previous management in 1999 and 2022.
That leaves Neu with one remaining vessel, the 82,000-cbm Fritzi N (built 2009), which is doing “extremely well”, said Tim Jones, president of Neu Shipping.
In general, the Neu family does not like to sell vessels, but the LPG ships were growing older, he conceded.
That leaves the company looking for a new direction in the gas segment.
“In the energy sector, we’re trying to think about the next generation and what’s available, as this market has been exceptional,” said Jones.
The Fritzi N was put out for sale and Neu received “incredibly good prices”, he added.
Then the company looked into putting the vessel on time charter for three years, but that deal succumbed when rates for gas carriers headed south.
“We did that, then didn’t get subjects on the deal, and the market fell away — and now it’s coming back.
Up in the air
“So we’re still up in the air,” said Jones.
“But the whole concept is to put that money away to go back in a big way with the new generation of ships.
“We just don’t know which ones they are. It’s starting to look like the very large ammonia carriers.
“The jury is still out, and we’ll see what the big boys do.”
The move could see Neu invest back into a segment where it had been a significant player.
Of the five vessels sold, the 75,000-cbm sister ships Karoline N (built 2009) and Ronald N (built 2009) were sold in 2022.
Three other vessels in the fleet were sold to Eastern Pacific Shipping in 2019.
The Idan Ofer-controlled company made its debut in the business by acquiring three 2009-built ships from Neu — the 60,200-cbm Helsinki (ex-George N), Denver (ex-Ernest N) and Tokyo (ex-Jenny N).
