Refocusing Avenir LNG has chartered one of its existing fleet of five LNG bunker vessels to an arm of Italian energy company Eni.
Avenir — a joint venture of Stolt-Nielsen, Golar LNG and Hoegh Evi — said on Tuesday it has signed a time-charter party for its 7,500-cbm LNGBV Avenir Aspiration (built 2021) with Eni subsidiary LNG Shipping.
The company described this as a “multi-year” charter starting from delivery in Europe in 2025. No further details were given.
It said: “This charter increases the company’s third-party charter revenue backlog, including options, to over $285m.”
Sources indicated the period, which includes options to extend the hire, is between five and 10 years. They said the rate is reflective of a tightening market for LNGBVs.
The Avenir Aspiration trades alongside the Avenir Ascension in north-west Europe, performing small-scale supply services and ship-to-ship bunkering operations as part of the company’s physical LNG trading division.
Avenir said this is the fourth charter deal it has concluded in the past 12 months on its fleet of five existing small-scale vessels and two under-construction units.
In January, the company announced a two-year extension to the charter of its 7,500-cbm Avenir Advantage (built 2020) to Petronas and a contract covering two years for its 7,500-cbm Avenir Accolade with New Fortress Energy’s interests.
By mid-year, Avenir had boosted its fleet by contracting two 20,000-cbm LNGBV newbuildings at Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering Co.
In July, the company fixed one of these to Vitol as the trader made its dive into the LNG bunkering sector. The other newbuilding is described by those familiar with the company as “open — for now”.
The joint venture company, which has just announced a refocusing of its interests to LNGBVs and a planned $50m Oslo stock listing, said the latest deal with Eni establishes it as “the leading provider for modern LNG bunker vessels, both as an owner and operator”.
Eni said the Avenir Aspiration will supply cargo and passenger ships, which are increasingly using LNG as fuel due to its lower environmental impact compared to conventional fuels and compliance with the latest emission standards.
The company said the charter strengthens its presence in the bunkering market in the Mediterranean.
“This agreement is part of Eni’s strategy to market its growing LNG portfolio and promote fuels that have less environmental impact for shipping and transport, contributing to the transition to low-emission energy carriers,” the company added.
Avenir managing director Jonathan Quinn said: “We are excited to be working with Eni to support their expansion into the LNG bunkering market.”
He added that the deal further solidifies Avenir as a partner for modern and efficient small-scale LNG vessels while delivering on the company’s strategy to facilitate the growth of LNG as a marine fuel globally.
