Denmark’s Celsius Tankers, a unit of Celsius Shipping, has inked charter deals for its three remaining XDF LNG newbuilds with US producer Cheniere.
The Copenhagen-based firm chartered the 180,000-cbm vessels to Cheniere Marketing International for a period up to 13.5 years.
Additionally, the charters will start next year following delivery from South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries.
To remind, Celsius Tankers ordered four “ultra-eco design” sister ships at Samsung but it already took delivery of the first vessel named Celsius Copenhagen. This vessel now serves Clearlake Shipping, a unit of Swiss-based energy trader Gunvor.
Celsius ordered the first two ships in August 2018 with a price tag of about $185 million for each carrier. Following the initial order, the firm confirmed options for two additional sister vessels in January 2019.
All of the newbuilds feature GTT’s Mark III Flex containment system with re-liquefaction capability. The vessel specification also includes air lubrication, increased filling ratio and several other features which will increase the vessels’ efficiency and lower emissions.
Celsius Chairman, Jeppe Jensen welcomed the new charter deals saying the firm “looks forward to a long-lasting relationship with one of the world’s largest exporters of LNG.”
“Cheniere’s use of these ultra-eco LNG carriers will help our overall efforts to reduce
emissions in our operations and across the value chain,” said Corey Grindal, Cheniere’s
Executive VP for Worldwide Trading.