A 29-year-old steam turbine-driven LNG carrier has been put up for sale, as the number of vintage vessels being floated on the market climbs in a crushingly low rate environment.
Brokers said H-Line Shipping has requested offers on its 130,600-cbm membrane-type vessel, the HL Pyeong Taek (ex-Hanjin Pyeong Taek, built 1995).
The ship is the smallest of four vessels originally built for Hanjin Shipping to lift cargoes for domestic importer Kogas under its long-term LNG deals with producers in Malaysia and Indonesia.
The other three former Hanjin ships were 138,000-cbm vessels — now the HL Muscat (built 1999) and the HL Sur and HL Ras Laffan (both built 2000), which were delivered several years later.
The steamship quartet comprises the oldest LNG carriers in H-Line’s fleet.
The South Korean owner boasts three two-stroke vessels, which are chartered out to Vitol.
The company is also building 13 ships in partnership with domestic owners Pan Ocean and SK Shipping against long-term charters with QatarEnergy and is building four more for US energy major ExxonMobil separately.
Constructed by Hanjin Heavy Industries, the HL Pyeong Taek was the first South Korean-built vessel to be fitted with a membrane-type cargo containment system — GTT’s NO 96 design.
It also ranks as the 15th-oldest vessel in the global LNG carrier fleet, according to Clarksons Shipping Intelligence Network’s database, with six of these ships listed as either laid up, under repair or in use as storage vessels.
Kogas originally chartered the HL Pyeong Taek along with a raft of other South Korean-owned tonnage, including the 125,182-cbm Hyundai Utopia (built 1994), 125,197-cbm SK Sovereign (ex-YK Sovereign, built 1994) and 125,000-cbm Hyundai Greenpia (built 1996).
This year, SK Shipping opted to send the SK Sovereign for demolition.
SK Shipping has gone on to sell a further four steam turbine LNG carriers for recycling.
This month, a cash buyer bought the South Korean-built, 138,000-cbm steam turbine-driven sister ships SK Summit (built 1999), SK Supreme, SK Splendour and SK Stellar (all built 2000) for $469.50 per ldt on an “as is” basis in Singapore.
The deal priced the membrane-type ships at about $13.8m each.
Brokers have suggested that other South Korean-controlled LNG carriers, including the Hyundai LNG Shipping vessels, could also come to the market soon as their Kogas charters expire.
The long-talked-of LNG steamship sell-off has gathered serious momentum in 2024, with a continuous drip-feed of vessels onto the sales market.
Brokers have said more than 30 vessels are now being marketed for sale either publicly or privately, with this number expected to rise before the year-end.
This month, TradeWinds reported that Mitsui OSK Lines has put its 137,661-cbm Moss-type LNG steamship Dukhan (built 2004) into lay-up.
Steamers are coming under double pressure.
The vessels, which are smaller and less efficient than their more modern cousins, were already facing phase-out amid tightening emissions regulations.
This is being accelerated by the unseasonally dire state of the LNG charter market where spot rates for LNG steamships are being quoted at $6,000 or less.
This is way below their operating expenses, with brokers indicating that the vessels are unlikely to attract any offers.
