Saga LNG Shipping is looking towards more orders as the shipowner celebrated the naming of its inaugural mid-size LNG carrier at China Merchants Heavy Industry (CMHI)'s Jiangsu yard.
The 45,000-cbm Saga Dawn (built 2019) will be the first ship to be delivered based on the "A Box" containment system design.
It is meant for long-term charter to an unnamed party that Saga principal David Wu described as a "top-tier energy major".
"We are confident the momentum of this significant milestone will allow us to order many more similar vessels in the near future to meet evolving market demands," said Wu in a prepared announcement.
He told TradeWinds he is also close to signing heads of agreement for similar vessels to be used for inland Yangtze River trading.
They could be between 12,000 cbm and 80,000 cbm, depending on what range of the Yangtze they will serve.
The first order under negotiation would be one firm and one optional 28,500-cbm ship, designated as a "Wuhan-max".
Wu intends to continue building the larger A Box vessels at CMHI, while turning to smaller yards for the smaller domestic tonnage.
Delivery of the Saga Dawn is slated for next month following sea and gas trials.
The prototype is designed for regional ocean trading.
Under Chinese law, Saga can take a minority shipowning share in domestic tonnage.
LNG terminal owners will be the major partner. But Saga, as a foreign company, is not eligible for a licence to operate domestically.
Further ships planned for regional ocean trading will be owned by Singapore-based Saga for long-term charter to principals.
Saga, controlled by through Wu's Sino-Norwegian ship finance boutique Landmark Capital, holds the rights to its own LNT A-Box ship design.
The design involves inserting a containment system during construction or conversion, enabling smaller less sophisticated yards to become LNG builders by outsourcing the containment to off-site specialists.
The company says the design is suitable for everything from LNG bunkering vessels to floating storage and regasification units ranging from 1,000 cbm to 100,000 cbm.
“Saga Dawn brings new life to the dwindling mid-sized LNG fleet. With difficult to reach end users in mind, the vessel has a fully laden draft of only nine meters and has no partial loading restrictions," said Saga business development director Jonathan Verswijver.
"The vessel is a preview of what is to come in the rapid development of midsized LNG infrastructure.
"We expect Saga Dawn to pave the way for new business models, innovative trades and the opening up of stranded demand centres, especially in Asia.”
