LNG shipper GasLog Partners said it has signed a new time charter agreement with Spanish utility Naturgy.
Under the deal, the NYSE-listed limited partnership controlled by Greece’s GasLog will charter the 2013-built, 155,000-cbm GasLog Sydney to the Madrid-based firm.
GasLog Partners said in its first-quarter report it had chartered the TFDE carrier for a period of 11 months starting in June 2022.
According to GasLog Partners, it estimates Ebitda for this deal would reach about $26 million.
Prior to this agreement, the firm penned a charter deal with a unit of commodity trader Trafigura for the 155,000-cbm GasLog Santiago.
GasLog Partners said this contract had started in December and would last for about 12 to 13 months.
Also, the firm expects Ebitda from this deal to reach about $17 million.
“Tight market”
CEO Paolo Enoizi told analysts during the first-quarter conference call on Thursday that the global focus on the availability of LNG has “never been higher”.
“The tragedy unfolding in Ukraine has highlighted the importance of LNG, not just as fuel that will enable the transition to a lower emission world, but also as a critical element of many countries energy security plans. The situation is unfolding at a time when the LNG market is already tight after two cold winters in Asia,” he said.
Currently, the year charter LNG carrier rates are assessed at $150,000 per day for TFDE vessels and $62,000 for the steam turbine vessels, according to Clarkson.
“We believe this is indicative of a charter expectations for a tight market in the months ahead,” Enoizi said.
The partnership’s fleet consists of 15 LNG carriers with an average carrying capacity of about 158,000 cbm. This includes the 155,000-cbm GasLog Shanghai which it sold and leased back from CDBL.
Six of these vessels will be available for charter during this year and GasLog Partners is looking to sign both short-term and long-term deals for these ships, Enoizi said.
“So I think the tactic is to evaluate what is the best for the opportunity we have at hand and be open to take term business or spot business as it comes available. Given today’s trends definitely term business is the most interesting of the two,” he said.