Regasification specialist Excelerate Energy has snapped up John Angelicoussis' Maran Gas Maritime's lone floating storage and regasification unit newbuilding in a charter deal.
George Kaiser-controlled Excelerate said it has signed a five-year bareboat charter agreement on hull 2477 which is under construction at DSME in South Korea for delivery in April 2020.
The charter will start on delivery of the 173,400-cbm vessel which will be capable of operating both as an FSRU and a trading LNG carrier.
Excelerate, which last week announced a new deal to provide a first FSRU for the Philippines, said that during the charter period it will have the option to purchase the vessel.
Maran Gas' regas unit will boost Excelerate's fleet of FSRUs to 10 vessels, all of which have been built by DSME. The company also controls one conventional LNG carrier.
Excelerate Technical Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Excelerate, will provide ship management for the vessel.
The deal on the FSRU would appear to be a fix for both parties.
Maran Gas has been trying hard to fix this DSME newbuilding, which is the company's first venture into floating regasification. The company switched a second FSRU it had contracted back into a conventional vessel.
Industry players have been watching for Excelerate Energy to make a move to increase or renew its fleet of FSRUs, as it tackles projects which may need larger more efficient units.
Excelerate's owner George Kaiser said: "Maran Gas Maritime's growing fleet is a testament to John Angelicoussis' vision and commitment to the LNG industry."
John Angelicoussis said, "We believe this transaction leverages the strengths of both our companies. Excelerate are market leaders in the FSRU space and we are delighted to have this opportunity to collaborate thereby securing a productive future for this state-of-the-art FSRU."
Maran Gas now has 30 LNG carriers in operation, with an additional 14 on order, including this FSRU.
