Capital Product Partners orders six dual-fuel medium gas carriers
Greek owner Capital Product Partners has continued its expansion into the gas sector with the order of six dual-fuel medium gas carriers (MGCs).
The total value of the order is $756m but includes the price of the previously ordered four liquified CO2 multi-gas carriers. The deliveries are expected to happen between the first quarter of 2026 and the third quarter of 2027.
To facilitate the order, the firm is redeploying the gross proceeds, after debt repayment, from the sale of seven container vessels sold between February and May 2024, amounting to a total of $182.5m together with other cash at hand. The rest of the funds will be raised from debt financing.
Of the 10 vessels, eight were ordered at South Korea’s Hyundai Mipo – four 45,000 cu m MGCs for $78.1m a piece and the four 22,000 cu m LCO2 carriers for $78.2m per vessel. The remaining two MGCs were ordered from China’s CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering. They have a capacity of 40,000 cu m and were ordered for $65.3m a piece.
The earliest MGC to be delivered will be from Hyundai Mipo and will arrive in June 2026 while the first LCO2 carrier is set to arrive in January 2026. The last vessel to arrive is one of the CIMC-built vessels in July 2027. The MGC are dual-fuel with shaft generators as well as other energy-saving devices while having an increased capacity of 15%-30% compared to older generation MGCs.
According to the company, this is a unique opportunity to increase its footprint in the conventional gas and energy transition gas sectors, while retaining its core focus on LNG with an expected delivered fleet of 18 LNG carriers by 2027.
“Despite a shipbuilding market which remains very tight in terms of new vessel slot availability, the [company] has secured these valuable early slots at highly experienced shipyards for these types of vessels. The delivery schedule is attractive with demand fundamentals for the LPG, ammonia, and CCUS business expected to be very strong going forward,” Capital Product Partners explained in a statement.
