Japanese shipowner NYK has offered a 16-year-old steam turbine-driven LNG carrier for sale just months after offloading a similar-aged vessel and jointly putting another ship on the market.
Brokers said NYK has circulated details and invited offers on the 147,798-cbm Alto Acrux (built 2008).
The Japanese-built, Moss-type LNG carrier is listed as under the control of NYK LNG Management but has been working for trader JERA.
The vessel passed its last special survey in April 2023 and has been largely used to ship cargo from Australia, South East Asia and Russia into Japan.
In the middle of this year, NYK began marketing another 16-year-old LNG carrier for sale, this time a South Korean-built membrane-type vessel, the 149,700-cbm Grace Cosmos (built 2008).
The ship, which is approaching the end of its long-term charter at the end of 2024, is listed as sold to Chinese interests in September.
The Grace Cosmos passed its last special survey in March 2023 and is said to have fetched a price in the mid-$50m range.
Sino Commerce Offshore has been named as the buyer.
In September, NYK and vessel partner Osaka Gas also circulated for sale a 24-year-old steam turbine LNG carrier, the 135,333-cbm LNG Jamal (built 2000).
Both the Alto Acrux and Grace Cosmos are among the larger steam turbine vessels in the global LNG fleet.
As such, brokers said they are potentially more attractive to buyers looking to use them for further trading or conversion projects.
In September, NYK LNG Group senior general manager Masami Okubo told TradeWinds that as the European Union Emissions Trading System kicks in, steam turbine ships will lose their competitiveness, and charterers will not want to take them on at the end of their long-term hire.
He said the company’s policy is to replace them with vessels featuring newer engine types once their charters expire or use them for floating storage and regasification unit projects.
A slow stream of LNG steamships has emerged onto the market this year.
Brokers said that some vessels are being offered on a private basis but along with those that have been openly marketed they estimate there must be around 30 vessels up for sale.
Some have commented that the recent sharp declines in the LNG carrier spot charter market — which have driven earnings for steamers well below operating costs — have slowed secondhand sales activity for LNG vessels.
They said market players are trying to reassess the market.
Among the older steam turbine vessels offered for sale are Adnoc Logistics & Services’ Moss-type 137,500-cbm Ghasha (built 1995).
Brokers have also been looking at five steam turbine-driven LNG carriers controlled by South Korea’s SK Shipping as they near the end of their long-term charters.
The South Korean owner has been testing the market by inviting offers on the 138,306-cbm SK Sunrise (built 2003), held in a joint venture with Japan’s Iino Kaiun.
