South Korea’s Sinokor Merchant Marine is in talks to sell one of its 10 laid-up LNG carriers for demolition.
Specialist brokers said the company has received strong offers in excess of $560 per ldt for the 126,530-cbm Caribbean Energy (ex-Gaea, built 1980).
They added that the Moss-type LNG carrier has about 3,500 tonnes of aluminium content, which had been attracting the high bids.
One said the vessel is eventually expected to be sold to buyers for demolition in India.
But a delay is likely to mean the vessel will arrive in India during the monsoon season, when delivery could prove more difficult.
Brokers said the shipowner has sent a supervisor to check the vessel’s propeller is still functioning so that it can be more easily beached.
Lay-ups
Sinokor has been slowly selling off its fleet of largely laid-up secondhand LNG carriers, the bulk of which have not shipped cargoes since they were purchased.
At the same time, rumours continue to circulate about four LNG newbuildings the company has on order at Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. The shipowner has apparently paid the deposit on one of the vessels but the future of the remaining three remains unclear.
The Caribbean Energy changed hands several times before landing with Sinokor.
The vessel served as part of Nigeria LNG’s fleet but was put up for sale with other vessels in 2014 and laid up in East Malaysia.
Golar LNG bought the ship for $20m and renamed it Gaea. But in early 2015, the company confirmed it had sold the vessel.
The LNG carrier then emerged listed under what was then Stolt-Nielsen’s Oslo-listed spin-off Avance Gas, where it was to be used for LPG storage.
But in September 2016, TradeWinds reported that Avance had sold its lone LNG carrier for $13.3m.
The vessel appears to have been laid up since it was first parked up by Nigeria LNG.
Busy year ahead?
According to Clarksons Shipping Intelligence Network, the Caribbean Energy now ranks among the top 10 oldest LNG carriers in the world fleet.
Sinokor, which scrapped two LNG carriers – the 135,293-cbm Pacific Energy (ex-LNG Bonny, built 1981) and 133,000-cbm Atlantic Energy (ex-LNG Finima, built 1984) — late last year is listed as having 13 LNG carriers of which 10 are laid up or under repair.
Market players are watching to see if there will be an uptick in LNG scrap sales this year as more older vessels are redelivered from their long-term contracts. They suggest that these smaller, less-efficient ships will struggle to compete with their larger modern cousins.
To date, just one vessel, the Sonatrach-controlled 126,130-cbm Ramdane Abane (built 1981), has been sold for demolition this year.
Malaysia’s MISC has also invited sales offers on its 130,400-cbm LNG carrier Puteri Firus (built 1997). These could include bids for trading or scrap.
Last year, six LNG carriers were sold for demolition, among the highest yearly totals for this type of vessel in recent years.
