China’s Jiangnan Shipyard has been contracted to build a pair of liquified natural gas carriers in a deal worth $470m.
China Taiping Insurance Holdings confirmed the deal in Hong Kong Exchange filing which included its non-wholly owned subsidiary Taiping & Sinopec Financial Leasing (TSFL) and its two special purpose vehicles Taiping 26 and Taiping 27.
The 175,000 cu m ships will deliver in March and July 2027 and will be bareboat chartered to Singapore’s Shandong Marine Energy (SDME) for 15 years for an estimated price of $632m and with a purchase option included.
According to the filing, if the purchase options are not exercised, SDME or the final charterer will need to pay a total of $80m at the end of the charters.
