Swiss-based commodity trading giant Gunvor, through its subsidiary Clearlake Shipping, has sealed a deal to charter four newbuild LNG carriers from Celsius Tankers, a unit of Danish owner Celsius Shipping.
The 180,000 cu m vessels will be built by South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries and deliver during 2023 and 2024. After delivery, the ships will go on long-term employment with Clearlake. Charter details have not been disclosed.
Celsius Tankers recently took delivery of the fourth and last LNG carrier from the previous series of 180,000 cu m XDF vessels ordered at Samsung Heavy in 2018. The new order for the LNG carrier quartet will be sister vessels to those delivered but with additional improvements, including lower emissions and reduced fuel consumption. They will be built to Lloyds’ Register class notation EEDI-3, meeting IMO requirements for ships built after 2025 for 30% more energy efficiency.
Gunvor has committed to converting 100% of its fleet to eco-vessels by 2027, and its co-head of LNG trading, Kalpesh Patel, remarked that Celsius vessels are among the most efficient LNG carriers ever designed. “We are conscious of upcoming regulatory changes, and these vessels are in line with Gunvor’s commitment to cut Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40% by 2025,” he added.
Celsius’ first LNG carrier, the 2020-built Celsius Copenhagen, is also on a charter with Gunvor’s Clearlake.
, is also on a charter with Gunvor’s Clearlake.
