Japan’s shipping giant NYK has signed a charter deal with German energy firm EnBW for four 174,000-cbm LNG carriers.
LNG Prime reported on May 2, citing brokers, that NYK has ordered four LNG carriers at South Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and chartered the vessels to EnBW.
These four vessels have a price tag of 1.408 trillion won ($1.05 billion) or some $262 million per ship.
NYK confirmed the long-term charter contracts in a statement released on Tuesday.
However, NYK did not reveal further information regarding the charter contracts.
Hyundai Heavy will deliver these LNG carriers in sequence during 2027.
NYK said the membrane-type tanks will be made of advanced insulating materials that reduce the vaporization rate, while the vessels will be propelled by fuel efficient dual-fuel slow-speed two-stroke marine engines.
Also, the LNG carriers will feature a shaft generator and air lubrication system (ALS), making the ships “more environmentally-friendly” than conventional LNG carriers, NYK said.
The French-flagged ships will have about 289.9 meters in length and 46.1 meters in breadth.
In April this year, EnBW booked more long-term capacity at Hanseatic Energy Hub’s planned Stade LNG import terminal in Germany.
HEH expects this facility to go online in 2027.
Also, EnBW signed two long-term deals last year to buy LNG from US LNG exporter Venture Global LNG.
Under the 20-year sales and purchase agreements, Venture Global will supply about 1.5 million tonnes per annum from its Plaquemines and CP2 facilities, starting in 2026.
