John Fredriksen-controlled Flex LNG has extended the hire on two of its four chartered in LNG carriers after securing term business for them as the company reassesses the sublet quartet.
Industry sources say trader Uniper has taken the 174,501-cbm Woodside Rees Withers (built 2016) on charter for the period from September to January at a rate in the low $40,000-per-day range.
Uniper originally fixed the 170,200-cbm Gazprom sublet Pskov (built 2014) from Flex but brokers say it has flipped this to the Woodside Rees Withers, which is lifting a cargo out of Sabine Pass in the US.
The Pskov is being linked to a similar charter-hire deal to South Korea's SK Shipping.
Posting a pre-tax second-quarter loss of $6.7m last week, Flex said it had declared the options to extend the original three-month hire on two of its four time-chartered vessels by a further 180 days, without naming the ships. Brokers say these are the Woodside Rees Withers and Pskov.
Flex said: “These vessels have been fixed for the majority of the option period, starting in September 2017 with redelivery in the first quarter of 2018. These fixtures are expected to have a positive earnings contribution."
The company adds that the remaining two vessels will be redelivered at the end of their initial 180-day charter period.
Apart from the two ships on which the hire has been extended, Flex was trading two other vessels — the 159,924-cbm Energy Atlantic (built 2015) and 155,000-cbm Yenisei River (built 2013) — on the spot market as it moved to establish a market presence and build up its operational record.
In addition to its chartered tonnage, Flex boasts an LNG fleet of six newbuildings, which are due to be delivered between January next year and August 2019.
Flex chief executive Jon Cook has told TradeWinds that the company may push ahead this year with a move into the floating storage and regasification unit sector and has full specifications drawn up with shipyards.
