US-listed GasLog Partners is optimistic about finding fresh employment for its steam turbine and tri-fuel diesel-electric LNG carriers that fall open from the second quarter.
Answering analysts’ questions in a fourth-quarter results briefing, chief executive Paolo Enoizi said the company sees opportunities for vessels in quarters two and three ahead of the winter when it expects a high level of LNG movements in terms of capacity and shipping demand.
Enoizi said GasLog Partners thinks it will be able to play a portfolio approach and fix the vessels in this period much like it did in 2021.
Interesting term market
On the company’s five steamships, he said, as with its tri-fuel diesel-electric (TFDE) vessels, the term market is more interesting.
Enoizi said there are many Far Eastern operators that seem to favour steamships over others, and some terminals that are only accepting this size and type of vessel.
He said whether the company will be able to find longer term business than a year is yet to be seen. But other chartering has achieved this so the company is “quite confident”.
Asked about conversion opportunities for the company’s five steamships, he said the company is looking at this but that such projects take time to put together.
GasLog Partners has fixed charter coverage for 76% of its fleet in 2022 and 100% for the first quarter of this year.
Chief financial officer Achilles Tasioulas said the company has no scheduled dry-dockings in 2022, which gives good cost viability.
Tasioulas said the company will look for additional sale-and-leaseback deals on its vessels on an “opportunistic basis” but said the company does not need the extra liquidity.
Record numbers
Enoizi quoted Poten & Partners figures that logged a new annual record of 165 term charters for 2021, some 44 of which were in the fourth quarter.
He said this was due to strong LNG demand, tonne-mile growth and logistical bottlenecks.
He acknowledged that headline spot rates for TFDE vessels have fallen in recent weeks and are now quoted at about $28,500 per day but added that this is not unusual for the end of the winter period.
In contrast, he said one-year term TFDE rates are relatively firm at about $87,000 per day, according to Clarksons.
“This is indicative of charterers’ expectations for a tight market in the months ahead. In addition the forward curve for LNG spot rates indicates rising rates through the rest of 2022,” he said.
“We expect the LNG carrier spot market to continue to perform strongly through next winter.”
