Denmark’s Celsius Tankers said it has ordered two more LNG carriers at South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries, boosting the orderbook to eight 180,000-cbm vessels.
Celsius Tankers, a unit of Celsius Shipping, and partners ordered the vessels at South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries, confirming recent reports by several brokers.
Following completion in 2025, the ships would enter into a long-term time charter with a “first-class major charterer,” Celsius said.
The firm did not reveal any additional information regarding the charter.
Celsius revealed a similar order at SHI in November this year. It will take delivery of these vessels in 2024.
In addition, Celsius said in October it had signed charter deals for its four LNG newbuilds with Clearlake Shipping, a subsidiary of energy trader Gunvor.
Also, Celsius ordered these four LNG carriers at Samsung Heavy as well. The Korean yard will deliver these ships between 2023 and 2024.
All of the vessels will have Lloyds’ Register class notation “EEDI-3” meeting IMO requirements for ships built after 2025 for 30 percent more energy efficiency, according to Celsius.
The total price tag for all of the eight ships reaches about $1.6 billion.
Twelve LNG carriers
Samsung Heavy already delivered four 180,000-cbm LNG tankers to Celsius Shipping.
Celsius took delivery of the first ship last year. Celsius Copenhagen works for Clearlake Shipping as well.
On the other side, Cheniere chartered the three remaining Celsius LNG newbuilds to ship volumes from its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi facilities in the US.
The new carriers would be sister ships, but they offer additional improvements including lower emissions and reduced fuel consumption, Celsius said. They will feature MAN ME-GA propulsion.
With these orders, Celsius Tankers’ total fleet will grow to twelve 180,000-cbm LNG carriers, while Celsius Tech will technically manage all of the ships.