US investment bank JP Morgan is said to have stepped up its presence in the large LPG carrier arena after buying two Chinese-built VLGCs.
JP Morgan Asset Management’s Global Transportation Group is said to have acquired the pair from Oriental Energy — also known as Donghua Energy — paying a premium on market valuations for the vessels.
Gas specialists said JP Morgan acquired the Jiangnan-built 84,000-cbm Keegan No 1 and Keegan No 2 (both built 2020), for between $92m and $93m each.
They added that the bank had chartered out the carriers to trader Mercuria for three years. The charter rate has not been disclosed.
Managers at JP Morgan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The acquisition of Oriental Energy’s vessels lifts JP Morgan’s VLGC fleet to six ships.
Its existing carriers — the 79,400-cbm Vega Song (built 2018) and 2017-built Vega Sea, Vega Star and Vega Sun — were previously owned by George Economou’s DryShips.
The Greek shipowner sold the quartet in 2018 for a price in the mid-$70ms each. Current estimates put the VLGCs at between $85m and $87m apiece, according to VesselsValue.
Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network shows two of the VLGCs are operated by Clearlake Shipping and the others by Shell International Trading & Shipping, Shell’s shipping and chartering arm.
Board approval
Listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Oriental Energy disclosed to the regulator that it had received approval from the board to sell the Keegan No 1 and Keegan No 2.
The company said the sales took advantage of high asset values and that they would allow it to improve cash flow and profitability.
Oriental Energy ordered the pair in early 2018 at a reported price of about $68m each.
The company said the book value of the two VLGCs is close to $59m per ship and the vessels were evaluated to be worth about $89m each.
Oriental Energy said the sale of Keegan No I and Keegan No 2 would not affect its shipping activities as they would be replaced by the Jiangnan-built 93,000-cbm Maoming Pan and Madam Xian (both built 2023).
VesselsValue shows the duo as owned by China Merchants Bank Financial Leasing. But TradeWinds understands the ships were ordered by Oriental Energy in 2021 for about $76m each.
Oriental Energy is China’s largest LPG importer company.
