Norwegian energy company Equinor has launched a search for up to seven aframax and LR2 tanker newbuildings as shipyard slots start to vanish and prices rise.
Equinor requested offers on up to four aframax tanker and three LR2 newbuildings of between 109,000 dwt and 115,000 dwt.
The company has specified that the newbuildings be dual-fuel vessels capable of bunkering LNG. The ships should be fitted with an ME-GI main engine.
The company is offering to charter the vessels for five years, with a series of five one-year optional hire periods.
Equinor has requested delivery dates in 2023 or the first half of 2024.
Offers are due in by 2 June.
Excitement
The documentation – which was being widely circulated in the market on Thursday – detailed that charterers encouraged owners to offer optional vessels for delivery in the second half of 2024 and the following year.
Brokers said Chinese yards are likely to offer the cheapest prices on these newbuildings, indicating they would likely come in a $2m to $3m below their South Korean competitors.
They said the specification to build LNG dual-fuel vessels will likely add between $10m to $12m to the price.
One quoted a price of around $66m for dual-fuelled aframax tonnage in South Korea and said Chinese-built ships would likely cost around $62m to $64m in contrast.
He said a further $2m would be added to these prices for coated LR2 newbuildings.
Timing
Newbuilding brokers in the UK said the emergence of the Equinor business had surprised and excited their Norwegian counterparts and sent them scurrying to shipbuilders in a search for berths.
One commented that Equinor’s timing to seek quotes on newbuildings is less than perfect.
He suggested that the vessels would likely cost about $5m less if the company had come to the market three months earlier and there may also have been a wider choice of yards and delivery options.
A rash of containership newbuildings orders, Qatar’s huge LNG carrier slot reservation programme and rising steel prices has slimmed shipyard availability and pushed up prices across all tonnage sectors.
Equinor, which is targeting a 50% reduction of shipping emissions by 2030 compared with 2005, is already using LNG-fuelled tanker tonnage chartering in four LNG-fuelled shuttle tankers, two each from AET Tankers and Altera Infrastructure — previously known as Teekay Offshore Partners.
The company has also chartered VLGC and 40,000-cbm gas carrier newbuildings and three VLGCs that can run on LPG and conventional fuel.
Equinor has previously said the carbon intensity of its tanker fleet will decrease by 45% by 2025 from its 2008 level.
