Japan's NYK Line is adding two LNG carrier newbuildings to its fleet with a term charter deal lined up for at least one of the vessels.
Industry sources following the LNG newbuilding market said NYK is the company behind an order announced by Samsung Heavy Industries on 27 December.
The South Korean shipbuilder said it received a KRW 240bn ($202m) contract for a single LNG carrier that will be delivered in 2024.
The yard did not disclose the name of the contracting party but described it as a "shipper in Latin America". But those close to the business named NYK as the shipowner connected to the order.
Upcoming
Separately, NYK is understood to have signed or is close to inking an order for a lone LNG carrier newbuilding at a Hyundai group shipyard.
This LNG newbuilding is said to be backed by a charter with EDF Energy.
Full details of this deal have yet to emerge but some have pointed to EDF's purchase of volumes from Venture Global LNG's soon-to-be-sanctioned Plaquemines LNG project in the US.
The French energy company is buying one million tonnes per annum from the project on a free-on-board basis in a deal covering a 20-year period.
NYK has been contacted for this article.
The Japanese shipowning giant has been active on LNG recently.
In December, NYK confirmed it had signed a multi-year charter deal with natural gas company Gail (India) of a single LNG carrier.
NYK said it has fixed out its 173,955-cbm Grace Emilia (built 2021) to the Indian company. But did not provide any further details of the charter.
In November, TradeWinds reported that brokers said the ship was fixed for five years from April 2022 at a rate in the low-to-mid-$70,000-per-day range.
The Grace Emilia is fitted with X-DF propulsion and a reliquefaction unit.
Demand increase
"NYK had been in discussions with Gail for time-charter contract and other LNG-related businesses and considers Gail a key player in India, where gas demand is expected to continue to increase due to remarkable economic growth," the shipowner said.
At the signing of this charter deal, the Japanese shipowner expressed its confidence in the LNG sector.
"Following the recent COP26 agreement by countries to gradually reduce coal-fired power generation, it is expected that demand for LNG, which has a lower environmental load than other fossil fuels, will increase in the future, especially in Asia," the company said.
