Greek shipowners are growing into the niches they have carved out for themselves in the LNG sector and now control 70 vessels of a global fleet that has just passed the 400 mark.
Between them, six Greek owners — technically it is seven if Chandris’s 25% stake in one ship is included — control 35 existing LNG carriers. On top of this and with the addition of a company with a lone ship on order, at present seven owners have a further 35 LNG newbuildings on order for delivery this year through into 2017. Around half, or at least 17 of these, do not, at present, have any known employment. This number rises by two if recently delivered and currently uncommitted vessels are included.
Greek shipowners’ entry into the sector has come in two separate periods that coincide with the two most recent waves of speculative contracting in the LNG sector.
The first of these was around 10 years ago, when Maran Gas Maritime, Dynagas, GasLog and Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN) made their moves. More recently, in the 2011-2012 dash for gas, TMS Cardiff Gas, Thenamaris and Alpha Gas joined their ranks.
Those first four pioneering and now established players in LNG shipping have the bulk of their orders backed by long or mid-term business and have matured into making different plays in the sector. The past seven months have seen at least two turn to the capital markets to raise cash — Peter Livanos’ master limited partnership (MLP) spin-off GasLog Partners, after the listing of its parent in May 2012, and similarly George Procopiou-controlled Dynagas LNG Partners.
Cardiff and Thenamaris are on the cusp of taking delivery of the bulk of their speculative newbuildings into what is currently an over tonnaged market.
Other LNG shipowners eyeing LNG-fleet consolidation prospects frequently point to TEN’s two-ship fleet and Alpha’s now lone newbuilding as likely targets.
One prominent LNG shipbroker points out that for the bulk of Greek shipowners their first orders in LNG have been on a speculative basis, which he says shows that the entry barrier to the sector, even for experienced owners with a long history in other trades, is very high.
He believes most big Greek players have now entered the market but says there are still a few sizeable outfits that have ambitions to make a play. “It’s a tough industry to enter,” he cautioned.
That said, brokers say Greek shipowning interests have mostly been successful on their forays into the LNG world, with the first wave of entrants having served their apprenticeships and now well accepted in the LNG sphere.
Greeks from the tanker side have gone into LNG and utilised the strong relationships they already have with the energy majors, one points out.
He goes on to describe how this has allowed them to be “more pragmatic” when it comes to charter duration on LNG contracts since they are used to operating in other markets where vessels are fixed for shorter periods.
“They are relatively comfortable doing five, 10 and 15-year deals instead of long-term,” he explained.
For those out there with uncommitted speculative LNG ships, industry players say it is Greek shipowners who have been most successful at getting those fixed.
“I wouldn’t say they have surprised the industry,” one broker said. “But they have done an excellent job of entering the market from a technical operational standpoint. Their level of knowledge and ability to run these ships has been very good.”
