Spark Commodities reported a drop in its LNG freight spot rates in both basins, as vessel availability rose.
“Sharpest drop in Spark25 Pacific LNG freight rates recorded this year, down $27,000 to $416,000/day, as vessel availability increases following the ongoing Freeport restart delays,” Spark said on Tuesday.
The Spark30S Atlantic spot LNG freight rate for a 160,000-cbm TFDE carrier also decreased $19,000 to $447,000/day, it said.
Despite the drop, the freight rates remain at very high levels.
In October, both of the rates reached above $400,000/ day, with the Atlantic rate reaching more than $480,000/day.
The rate rose more than six times from about $80,000/day at the end of August.
Last week, the operator of the 15 mtpa Freeport LNG export terminal on Quintana Island again delayed the restart of the facility in Texas.
Freeport LNG is now targeting initial production at the facility in mid-December.
BP, Jera, Osaka Gas, SK E&S, and TotalEnergies have long-term contracts with Freeport LNG.
Prior to the shutdown on June 8, most of the cargoes produced at the plant this year landed in Europe.
This is the case with other US LNG terminals as well.
Largest US LNG exporter Cheniere previously said it sent about 70 percent of the volumes produced this year at its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi plants to Europe.
European LNG imports from the US surged this year mostly due to high prices and as European countries look to ditch Russian pipeline gas supplies.