LNG carrier operator CoolCo, formed by Tor Olav Troim’s Golar LNG and Idan Ofer’s Eastern Pacific Shipping, has secured another charter deal for one of its eight TFDE vessels.
“During August 2022, we fixed another twelve-month charter agreement at around $140,000 per day commencing early September 2022,” CoolCo said in its first-half report.
The firm did not provide any additional information.
Prior to this, CoolCo chartered one vessel for twelve months at a rate of around $120,000 per day and the other on a multi-month charter with an increasing rate from $60,000 to more than $100,000 per day.
CoolCo also said in the first-half report that another vessel would conclude its twelve-month charter in October 2022, “positioning her well to secure attractive new business ahead of the winter months.”
To remind, the firm said in April it completed the purchase of all eight TFDE vessels from Golar as part of a deal revealed in December.
In addition to these owned LNG carriers, CoolCo manages eleven LNG carriers and nine FSRUs, according to its website.
CoolCo said in the report it generated aggregate operating income of $53.4 million and net income of $40.9 million for the first half, of which $27.7 million and $23.2 million respectively relates to predecessor period operations.
The firm achieved average daily time charter equivalent earnings of $59,100 per day during the first half, “comfortably exceeding” the all-in cash breakeven for the fleet of around $50,000 per day.
The market will “quickly tighten” after Freeport restart
With very little tonnage on offer by independent owners, no uncommitted vessels scheduled for delivery for the rest of the year and charterers prioritizing shipping coverage, CoolCo expects that “the market will quickly tighten when Freeport returns to service and relets are pulled back ahead of winter.”
Freeport LNG recently delayed the restart of its 15 mtpa LNG export plant in Texas to November following an incident at the facility that took place on June 8.
“We are seeing early signs of this today with TFDE spot rates recovering to around $70k per day and twelve-month TFDE rates approaching twice the spot rate. Into 2023, around 38 vessels are scheduled to deliver, only three of which are uncommitted,” CoolCo said.