South Korea’s Samsung Heavy will soon deliver the third out of four LNG tankers the yard is building for Denmark’s Celsius Shipping as the vessel undergoes final tests.
The Copenhagen-based firm chartered the 180,000-cbm Celsius Charlotte to US LNG exporter Cheniere under a long-term deal revealed at the end of last year.
Cheniere will use three Celsius LNG newbuilds to ship volumes from its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi facilities in the US. The third newbuild will also join its sister vessels this year.
Celsius took delivery of the first ship in this batch of four last year. Celsius Copenhagen works for Clearlake Shipping, a unit of Swiss-based energy trader Gunvor.
The second carrier and the first one on charter to Cheniere, Celsius Canberra, joined the company’s fleet in January this year.
All of the “ultra-eco” newbuilds feature WinGD XD-F propulsion and GTT’s Mark III Flex containment system with reliquefaction capability. The vessels also have air lubrication and an increased filling ratio.
To remind, Celsius Tankers, a unit of the shipping company, ordered the first two vessels in August 2018 with a price tag of about $185 million for each carrier.
Following the initial order, the firm confirmed options for two additional sister vessels in January 2019.
Celsius has previously said that it would not stop investing in LNG and plans to expand its fleet with additional vessels.