India's Great Eastern Shipping Company (GE Shipping) has snapped up another VLGC as it expands its gas operations.
The Mumbai-listed owner said the Japanese-built VLGC will be delivered in the next three months, without revealing a price.
The 1996 ship has a capacity of about 76,931 cbm, it said. The three 1996-built VLGCs listed by Clarksons all have capacity of more than 78,000 cbm, however.
Last year GE secured a highly profitable deal for a 21-year-old very large gas carrier (VLGC) with domestic charterer Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL).
The 75,000-cbm Jag Vishnu (built 1994) was fixed for a year, with an option for a further six months, at $1.675m per month, or $55,800 per day.
Great Eastern paid just $26m for the ship as JA Sunshine from Japan’s Kumiai Navigation in July 2013. Sources suggest that the Indian charterer is paying a 20% premium for domestic tonnage and that such a ship would earn $1.4m per month for the period in the open market.
