H-Line Shipping sells steam LNG carrier for scrap

Brokers said the vessel in question is the 1995-built 130,000-cbm, HL Pyeongtaek, previously known as Hanjin Pyeongtaek.

The steam LNG carrier was sold on “as is” basis for delivery in South Korea.

Moreover, the price is said to be about $13.8 million, or about $480 per ldt.

VesselsValue data shows that the LNG carrier was on Thursday on its way to Incheon, South Korea, after picking up a cargo at Qatar’s giant Ras Laffan LNG complex.

The vessel is expected to arrive in Incheon, where the Kogas-operated Incheon LNG terminal is located, on Sunday.

This LNG carrier serves a long-term charter with LNG importing giant Kogas, the data shows.

According to H-Line Shipping’s website, its LNG carrier fleet includes ten operational vessels and 13 under construction.

HL Pyeongtaek is said to be the eighth steam LNG carrier sold for demolition in 2024.

Prior to this move, brokers reported in November 2024 that South Korea’s SK Shipping sold four old LNG carriers for scrap.

The vessels are the 1999-built SK Summit and the 2000-built SK Supreme, SK Splendor, and SK Stellar.

In September 2024, Sinokor’s 1979-built LNG carrier, Coral Energy was also sold for demolition.

Steam LNG carriers for demolition

Flex LNG CEO Øystein Kalleklev said in November that there are around 200 steamships in the LNG carrier market, including 21 modern steamships.

He said a lot of these steamships were fixed on 20, 25-year charters, and they are rolling off these charters in the coming years, with about 75 of these ships being returned from long-term charters in the next 24 months,

“What we expect will happen here is a mass EEXI-tinction. So EEXI means Energy Efficiency for Existing Ships Index, which is part of the IMO rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions for the shipping sector,” he said.

Kalleklev said these ships are now “technically and commercially obsolete, and we do think scrapping activity will take up, and which we do think will rebalance the market in 2027.”

He said that historically, there has been very limited scrapping demand.

“But as mentioned with all these steamships coming off charters, in this kind of market balance we assume 53 of the 75 ships to be removed from the market,” he said.

“This could be more if the market stays soft. It’s very expensive to take a steamship through a 25-year special survey,” he said.

GTT CEO Jean-Baptiste Choimet recently told LNG Prime that the French LNG containment giant believes the replacement market is poised for significant growth over the next decade, driven by the aging LNG fleet, the demand for greater efficiency, and increasingly stringent environmental regulations.

“Out of the current LNG carrier (LNGC) fleet of approximately 700 vessels, more than 300 will surpass 20 years of service within the next 10 years, and around 200 of those will exceed 25 years,” Choimet said.

This creates a “substantial need” for replacement, he said.