Shipbroker Clarksons has brokered a 174,000-cbm forward freight agreement trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) in what the shop says is a world first.
Clarksons said the trade was a calendar 2025 to 2026 FFA based on the Baltic Exchange’s BLNG2g 174 LNG route assessment, from Sabine Pass in the US to the UK’s Isle of Grain, at $75,000 per day.
The broker detailed that three different 174 LNG FFAs are now available to clear through the CME and are derived from the Baltic Exchange assessments.
Clarksons described the FFA as “a positive development for the LNG derivative market”.
The broker said LNG FFAs provide market participants with “a flexible and efficient tool to hedge against future freight rate fluctuations, allowing for better risk management and enhanced decision-making in the dynamic LNG shipping market”.
Christian Greenop, from Clarksons’ FFA team, who brokered the transaction, said: “After a record year in LNG FFA trades in 2023, we are very happy to have a 174,000-cbm product available to trade.
Greenop added: “There are over 300 two-stroke vessels due to be delivered between now and 2028, on top of the 207 already in the market.
“This will make up around 60% of the global LNG fleet and we feel this product will be a natural part of that growth story.”
