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CCEC announced in a statement on Monday completion of its conversion from a Marshall Islands limited partnership to a Marshall Islands corporation and its adoption of a new corporate identity with a change in name and Nasdaq stock market ticker to CCEC.
The conversion and the name change are “key milestones” in CCEC’s strategic pivot towards the transportation of various forms of natural gas to industrial customers, including LNG, as initially announced in 2023.
18 LNG carriers
In November last year, the company entered into an umbrella agreement to buy 11 LNG carriers from its sponsor Capital Maritime & Trading Corp for a total acquisition price of $3.13 billion.
It entered into the deal with Evangelos Marinakis-led Capital Maritime and its general partner Capital GP.
CCEC said five of these vessels are already on the water and the remaining six vessels are expected to be delivered between the first quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027.
The company recently took delivery of three new LNG carriers in South Korea.
In June this year, the company also ordered 10 gas carriers, including four unique handy multi gas carriers that can carry liquid CO2.
“This $3.9 billion investment, notable both in asset value and scope, demonstrates our commitment to becoming a leading provider of transportation for LNG and other clean fuels,” the firm said.
The company has already made significant progress on its refocus of the business with 12 LNG vessels currently on the water plus the disposal of seven legacy container vessels during the first half of 2024.
Upon delivery of its remaining six vessels between the first quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2027, CCEC expects to become the largest US-listed LNG shipping company.
Capital Gas, also controlled by Marinakis, manages all of these LNG carriers.
“More attractive investment opportunity”
“Today’s announcement whilst symbolic is an important step in the growth and evolution of the company,” CEO Jerry Kalogiratos said.
“It builds upon our stated intention to become the only US-listed shipping company offering transportation for all gas types with an emphasis on the energy transition, as these vessels can move LPG, ammonia, butane, propylene and liquid CO2, adding to LNG, where we already have a presence,” he said.
Kalogiratos said this conversion to a traditional corporate structure will enhance CCEC’s corporate governance and is intended to position the company as a “more attractive investment opportunity” in the equity capital markets.
“We have structured the converted company in a manner that we believe will appeal to institutional investors, which we believe will further broaden our investor base and improve our trading liquidity,” he said.