China’s Jiangnan Shipyard has secured a contract to build two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers worth about $470 million.
China Taiping Insurance Holdings revealed this deal on Monday in a filling with the Hong Kong Exchange.
This is the first order for large LNG carriers in China this year following record orders for such vessels in 2022.
According to the filling, Taiping & Sinopec Financial Leasing (TSFL), a non-wholly owned subsidiary of China Taiping Insurance, and two special purpose vehicles (SPVs), Taiping 26 and Taiping 27, ordered these two 175,000-cbm LNG carriers at Jiangnan.
Jiangnan will deliver the first vessel by March 2027 and the second ship by July 2027, and each of the LNG carriers has a price tag of $235 million.
As part of the finance lease agreements, Taiping 26 and Taiping 27 entered into bareboat charter deals with Shandong Marine Energy (Singapore) or SDME, the filling said.
The charters are for a period of 180 months or 15 years and the charter for the first vessel is estimated to be worth about $315.7 million and for the second $316.5 million, the filling said.
Prior to the delivery dates, SDME can also choose to exercise options to purchase the vessels.
In October last year, Jiangnan signed a letter of intent to build two 175,000-cbm LNG carriers with a company from Singapore, with delivery of the vessels scheduled by July 2027.
Jiangnan’s parent China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) did not reveal further information, but shipbuilding sources told LNG Prime at the time that Shandong Marine Energy had signed the letter of intent with Jiangnan and that these vessels would go on charter to Sinopec.
Last year, Jiangnan won its first order for large LNG carriers and will build in total six LNG vessels for a unit of UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Co (Adnoc).
These “LNG Jumbo” dual-fuel carriers will feature GTT’s Mark III Flex membrane system and a partial reliquefaction system.
With the new contracts, Jiangan now has eight 175,000-cbm LNG carriers on order.