Greek shipowner Dynagas has increased its orderbook for 200,000-cbm LNG carrier newbuildings at Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea.
Newbuilding sources said Dynagas has booked contracts with the shipbuilder for two of the super-size vessels.
Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering said on Tuesday that it had inked orders for a pair of 200,000-cbm LNG ships without naming the owner concerned.
A price has yet to emerge. The company last ordered three LNG carriers of this size in January, which, according to the yard’s exchange announcement, were priced at just over $261m each. But shipyard prices have inched up in the interim.
Dynagas’ latest LNG carriers are due for delivery between mid and end-2027, which observers said reflects the full orderbook positions of shipbuilders for LNG carriers.
TradeWinds has contacted Dynagas for confirmation and comment on the additional newbuildings.
Dynagas has made a big play in this relatively new 200,000-cbm LNG carrier sector. Including these latest two ships, the company has contracted 14 vessels of this size to date.
The ships, which are substantially larger than today’s 174,000-cbm workhorses, were specifically designed for long-haul shipments from the US in a bid to move big volumes and so achieve low transport costs while retaining terminal compatibility and can transit the Panama Canal.
US producer Cheniere Energy is known to have chartered at least nine of the vessels and is hotly tipped to be behind the remaining five, particularly following the liquefaction developer’s recent revelations about its large LNG expansion plans.
Dynagas started out with these pioneering vessels when it quietly upped the size of two ships originally ordered at 180,000 cbm in 2020. The first vessels — the 200,000-cbm Clean Copano and Clean Cajun (both built 2022) — are now trading.
The Greek owner is due to take delivery of the 200,000-cbm sister ships Clean Resolution and Clean Destiny in late 2023.
The company now has 10 more LNG carriers of this size under construction. Aside from the latest order at HHI, two are scheduled for handover dates in 2024, three in 2025 with a further trio to follow in 2026.
In September 2022, as the berth situation for LNG carriers tightened, Dynagas was seen in discussions with Chinese shipbuilder Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co for up to four LNG newbuilding berths. The Greek owner was said to be close to signing a letter of intent but no order materialised.
The only other company to follow Dynagas’ lead on this size to date is US producer Venture Global LNG, which has ordered five vessels of this capacity.
The company contracted three 200,000-cbm LNG carriers at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering in March, which are due for handover dates in 2025, and followed this up with another pair in October that is due to be delivered in 2026.
Middle East producer QatarEnergy is also understood to be considering building a new generation of its huge Q-ship vessels.
In March, TradeWinds reported that QatarEnergy had asked yards to produce design proposals for an updated version of its 263,000-cbm to 265,000-cbm Q-Max vessels that could be used to ship cargoes from its North Field Expansion project to new Chinese LNG terminals.
