Joint venture Avenir LNG has confirmed that it has fixed one of its two 20,000-cbm LNG carriers on time-charter to energy major Shell to work as an LNG bunker vessel (LNGBV).
Avenir said it has fixed its under-construction Avenir Achievement to the major for a period of three years from the first quarter of 2023. The deal comes with an option to extend the hire for a further five years.
The vessel is due to be delivered from CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering's yard in China in the second quarter of 2022.
Sold out
On Tuesday TradeWinds reported that Avenir is now "sold out" on its six-ship fleet after finding employment for its previously open three vessels.
This publication named Shell as one of the charterers of Avenir's two 20,000-cbm vessels after brokers and consultants indicated that the ship would be used as an LNGBV to supply bunkers in the Caribbean-US region.
A second 20,000-cbm ship, the newbuilding Avenir Allegiance which CIMC Sinopacific said it had delivered on Wednesday, is understood to have been committed for a project in Shanghai, China.
Separately a large LNG trader is said to have snapped up the company's remaining 7,500-cbm ship, the Avenir Ascension.
But the shipowner has yet to provide details of the deals on these two vessels.
Avenir said the Shell charter, including its options, will up the company's overall vessel charter revenues backlog to $81m as of 1 December 2021.
The vessel will be equipped with boil-off gas reliquefication and simultaneous operations capabilities.
Biggest and best
Avenir claimed the specifications make the ship "the world's largest, most efficient and versatile LNG bunker supply vessel".
Chief executive Peter Mackey said: "This deal marks another major achievement in Avenir's development as we fix the last vessel in our current newbuilding programme."
The CEO described the company as "thrilled" to have Shell as its latest customer and to be playing "an important role in expanding Shell's LNG bunkering capabilities".
Shell announced it will charter in a 12,000-cbm Jones Act LNGBV which is being built in the US. But the major is expected to need a vessel in advance of this to supply the growing number of deepsea and cruiseship LNG dual-fuelled vessels.
There are several large bunker supply tenders currently active in the market and the major is among those competing for them.
| Ship | Size (cbm) | Delivery | Yard | Charterer |
| Avenir Advantage | 7,500 | 2020 | Keppel Nantong | Petronas* |
| Avenir Accolade | 7,500 | 2021 | Keppel Nantong | New Fortress Energy |
| Avenir Aspiration | 7,500 | 2021 | CIMC Sinopacific | Avenir LNG |
| Avenir Allegiance | 20,000 | 2021 | CIMC Sinopacific | Shanghai SIPG Energy Service Co (SSES) |
| Avenir Ascension | 7,500 | 2022 | CIMC Sinopacific | Avenir LNG |
| Avenir Achievement | 20,000 | 2022 | CIMC Sinopacific | New Fortress/Shell |
*Ship is time-chartered from Future Horizons, a 50:50 MISC-Avenir LNG joint venture
