Cosco Shipping Energy Transportation (CSET) has confirmed orders for three LNG carrier newbuildings at a domestic shipbuilder in a deal worth $554m in total.
The Hong Kong-listed company said the vessels will be built at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding for delivery between September 2024 and March 2025.
CEST said the $185m price tag for each vessel will be funded by 80% by bank borrowings and the remaining 20% from internal financial resources.
The tail-heavy newbuilding contract stipulates payments in four installments vessels of 10%, 10%, 10% and 70% on delivery.
The vessels were ordered by CSET subsidiary United Liquefied Gas Shipping in which Petrochina International (Hong Kong) has a 19% stake.
TradeWinds first reported the order for the three 174,000-cbm vessels in June of this year saying they had been contracted on the back of charters from Chinese National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC).
In May, TradeWinds reported that CNOOC was out in the market with a requirement for three LNG newbuildings and was offering to sign up for charter periods of 10 years or more.
The company requested vessels fitted with low-pressure, XD-F propulsion systems, and it earmarked Hudong-Zhonghua to build the ships.
At least 10 shipowners were understood to have been invited to offer in on the business.
For Hudong-Zhonghua these latest newbuilding order marks a rebuilding of its emptying LNG newbuilding orderbook.
In July TradeWinds reported that Chinese leasing company CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping had exercised an option to order an LNG carrier at the yard.
Newbuilding sources said the vessel was the third for the China State Shipbuilding Corp-controlled leasing house at the shipbuilder.
LNG newbuilding orders placed this year up to the end of October 2021 totalled 63 vessels of 9.9m cubic metres (cbm), according to Clarksons.
This represented a 34% increase year-on-year in capacity terms on an annualised basis, the shipbroker added.
Clarksons said the guideline newbuild price for a 174,000-cbm LNG carrier stood at $203m as of end October, up $17m in the year to date.
