Shandong Marine eyes order for LNG carrier quartet

Sources told LNG Prime that Shandong Marine and CSSC’s Jiangnan signed a letter of intent for four firm LNG carriers.

These carriers will have a capacity of 175,000 cbm.

Delivery of the vessels is expected in 2028.

The price of each vessel is estimated at approximately $220 million. This is approximately $15 million less compared to the ships Jiangnan is already building for Shandong Marine, the sources said.

Also, the new vessels would probably be similar in specifications to the LNG carriers already under construction at Jiangnan.

In 2023, 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 two 175,000-cbm LNG carriers. Each is worth $235 million.

Jiangnan will deliver the first vessel by March 2027 and the second ship by July 2027.

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 charters are for 15 years.

Prior to the delivery dates, Shandong Marine can also choose to exercise options to purchase the vessels.

These “LNG Jumbo” dual-fuel carriers feature GTT’s Mark III Flex membrane system and a partial reliquefaction system.

They are 298.5 meters long and 46 meters wide, with a depth of 26.5 meters.