KNOT Offshore Partners has secured a potential five-year charter for one of its shuttle tankers after its existing charterer opted not to extend the fixture.
The 152,268-dwt Anna Knutsen (built 2017) has now been fixed to an unnamed major oil company with the charter to start in the second quarter of 2022.
The charterer has an option to take the vessel for either one year, with options for four further one-year periods, or two years, with options to extend the charter by up to three further one-year periods.
The Danish-flagged ship was originally fixed to Galp Sinopec that had options to extend the charter for up to a further six years but opted not to.
The new charter was one of several announced by the US-listed master limited partnership as it announced fourth-quarter profit of $23.1m against the $24.6m seen 12 months earlier.
KNOT Offshore also confirmed that two of its ships had suffered Covid-19 outbreaks in the past eight months, but they had been quickly contained.
The 157,000-dwt Vigdis Knutsen (built 2017) suffered 17 days of off-hire in July 2021, while the 152,000-dwt Raquel Knutsen (built 2015) spent five days off-hire in February 2022 due to outbreaks.
KNOT Offshore, a spin-off of Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers, also confirmed that Brazil oil giant Petrobras had agreed to time charter the 156,599-dwt Tordis Knutsen (built 2016) for a fixed period of five months, with an option for the charterer to extend the charter by one month.
In addition, Norwegian oil major Equinor has agreed charters for the 149,999-dwt Bodil Knutsen (built 2011) and the 162,258-dwt Windsor Knutsen (built 2007).
The new charters, which are due to start in late 2023 and 2024 respectively, are for either one year or two years with options to extend the charter, in either case, by two further one-year periods.
“We have made good progress in agreeing a combination of interim and longer-term employment contracts for a number of our vessels coming into the charter market and we remain highly focused on securing further coverage for the quarters ahead,” said KNOT Offshore chief executive Gary Chapman.
“In the medium term and beyond, with high oil prices continuing to incentivise production and major shuttle tanker customers, particularly in Brazil, committing extensive capex to the FPSOs that will serve as the basis for their deep-water expansion.
"We believe that KNOT Offshore Partners is well positioned to service the significant growth that we expect in the shuttle tanker-serviced offshore oil fields where we operate.”
