Japanese shipowner K Line is being linked to a KRW 674.5bn ($517m) order for two LNG carriers at South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries.
On Monday, SHI said it had won a contract from an “Asia-Pacific shipper” for the two vessels without naming the party behind the business.
SHI said the LNG carriers will be delivered by November 2026.
The price values the vessels at the strong sum of around $258.5m each, which is in line with other top-dollar LNG orders placed.
Newbuilding sources said K Line has contracted the vessels but is keen for its name not to be disclosed in connection with the new orders.
Some indicate that the ships have been ordered on speculation while another said they are being targeted at a specific piece of business.
While the price for these latest two vessels remains very firm at just shy of $260m, observers are asking how K Line has managed to secure 2026 delivery dates when recent LNG orders at the yard were for ships due for handover in 2027.
K Line said it is not in a position to confirm or comment on the reports when contacted by TradeWinds.
LNG carrier orders have been gradually stacking up in the first quarter of 2023, after a record order haul in previous years for the sector, with enquiries indicating that it could be another busy 12 months for this vessel type.
TradeWinds has reported 17 LNG newbuildings have been signed in the first three months of this year.
The bulk of the orders —15 vessels — were inked at South Korea’s big three shipbuilders.
Most of the orders are for independent shipowners including Greece’s Capital Gas, Dynagas and Maran Gas Maritime, along with Japanese owners Mitsui OSK Lines and NYK Line.
Several are understood to be optional berths, which these owners were holding at yards.
In China, where LNG berth space is exceptionally tight despite new yard entrants into the sector in 2022, TPSH Leasing’s two-ship contract against charters with Sinopec is something of an outlier.
There are several ongoing LNG carrier newbuilding enquiries — including those reported by TradeWinds for German energy EnBW and energy major Chevron — that could add to this year’s LNG order tally, along with those from other majors.
But on top of this, shipyards are gearing up for QatarEnergy to firm up just over 40 LNG carrier slots that it has pre-reserved under phase II of its huge shipbuilding programme. This comes with the added complication that the Middle East producer may be interested in building some of these as Q-Max vessels, which take up more berth space.
In addition, a question mark continues to hover over 17 slots that remain booked for the Mozambique LNG project at two South Korean yards.
This latest LNG carrier for SHI bumps up the yard’s sales total for the year to date to $2.5bn — or 26% of its order target of $9.5bn for 2023.
Aside from two floating LNG unit contracts, which were confirmed around the turn of the year, SHI also won a single-ship LNG order from MOL in February and three vessels for NYK last month.
Both of these orders were for ships that will deliver in 2027.
| Shipowner | No. of vessels | cbm | Delivery | Shipbuilder |
| Capital Gas | 4 | 174,000 | 2026-2027 | HSHI |
| Dynagas | 3 | 200,000 | 2026 | HHI |
| MOL | 1 | 174,000 | 2026 | DSME |
| MOL | 2 | 174,000 | 2026-2027 | SHI |
| NYK | 3 | 174,000 | 2027 | SHI |
| Maran Gas Maritime | 2 | 174,000 | 2027 | DSME |
| TPSH Leasing | 2 | 175,000 | 2027 | Jiangnan |
| Total | 17 |
