Details of the bidders competing for a charter from French energy major TotalEnergies’ fuelling arm to back a large LNG bunker vessel newbuilding have started to filter out into the market.
Those following the tender process closely named the five shortlisted parties for the business as Dutch shipowner Anthony Veder, small-scale LNG company Avenir LNG, Spain’s maritime-focused Grupo Ibaizabal, Japanese shipping giant Mitsui OSK Lines and Bernhard Schulte of Germany.
They said TotalEnergies Marine Fuels’ tender has been ongoing for several weeks and is not moving particularly quickly.
Parties are not due to make their final offers until the May to June period. A final selection had previously been pencilled in for a month earlier.
Brokers hinted that the availability of shipyard berths could tighten sharply and warned against delays to the process. They have previously quoted prices in the high $70m to $90m region for LNGBV newbuildings in this size range.
But others pointed to the shipowning names shortlisted, the bulk of which they said would likely have some clout for securing scarce slots.
TotalEnergies Marine Fuels floated a requirement for a 15,000-cbm to 18,000-cbm LNGBV.
The specialist vessel is expected to be sited on the US West Coast, possibly in the Port of Long Beach, California.
The major’s fuelling arm is understood to be offering a charter-hire period of between five and seven years on the vessel.
Industry players watching the tender process comment that almost all the shortlisted parties have experience of, or are owning or operating LNGBVs.
MOL built and has chartered two 18,600-cbm LNGBVs — the Gas Agility (built 2020) and Gas Vitality (built 2021) — to TotalEnergies Marine Fuels. Both vessels are deployed for the major in northwest Europe.
Anthony Veder has also been active in the sector and small-scale LNG shipping, both in Europe and in the Americas.
Avenir LNG — a joint venture between Stolt-Nielsen, Golar LNG and Hoegh LNG — has been working in the European, Mediterranean and Asian markets.
The company’s five owned vessels are fully deployed and it is expected to move on fleet expansion this year.
Bernhard Schulte now controls the 7,500-cbm LNGBV Ascan Schulte (ex-Kairos, built 2018) and has floated plans for its own design of the vessel.
Grupo Ibaizabal controls the 600-cbm LNG and oil bunkering vessel Oizmendi (built 2009).
The LNGBV sector is approaching a key inflection point.
Today the existing LNGBV fleet is seen as somewhat underutilised, but brokers and consultants have been warning for the past year about the looming shortfall of LNGBV tonnage.
They expect this to kick in from 2025 but ramp up sharply in 2026 as large numbers of LNG dual-fuelled newbuildings are delivered. In 2023, TotalEnergies Marine Fuels quantified the LNGBV demand from 2026 as equivalent to 35 large LNGBVs of between 12,000 cbm and 18,000 cbm in size.
In March, classification society DNV said there are now over 500 LNG dual-fuelled vessels in operation, with a further 524 under construction for delivery dates that range through into 2028.
The bulk of the on-order vessels are container ships, followed by car carriers and chemical tankers.
