China’s Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering has held a keel-laying ceremony for Avenir’s 20,000-cbm liquefied natural gas (LNG) bunkering and supply vessel.
UK-based Avenir announced in a social media post that the keel laying of Hull No. S-1123 took place on March 27.
This follows the vessel’s steel-cutting ceremony in July last year.
This vessel is part of a second order CIMC SOE received from Avenir after it built four vessels for the small-scale company.
In 2024, Avenir LNG ordered two 20,000-cbm LNG bunkering and supply vessels at CIMC SOE.
The ship (Hull No. S1123) is the first in this batch of two.
The vessel will serve Vitol under a seven-year charter, with options to extend for up to 10 years in total.
It will join Avenir’s fleet in the fourth quarter of 2026, while its sister vessel will join the fleet in the first quarter of 2027.
It is worth noting that Norway’s Stolt-Nielsen recently agreed to sell 50 percent of its interest in Avenir to Japan’s shipping giant NYK.
Stolt-Nielsen expects the transaction to complete in the middle of 2026, subject to customary approvals, including regulatory approvals.
The company launched an offer in March 2025 to buy Avenir’s remaining shares after it bought stakes from Golar LNG and Hoegh family holding company Aequitas.