Celsius Tankers (“Celsius”) expand their partnership with Gunvor Group Ltd (“Gunvor”) in the liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector with the chartering of four highly efficient, modern LNG carriers. The vessels, to be constructed by China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) (CMHI), will support the growing LNG activities of Gunvor, one of the leading independent LNG trading companies in the world, reports Global Commodities Trading.
Joint venture
Celsius has formed a joint venture with an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners (“ArcLight”), a leading middle-market infrastructure investor, to fund two of the LNG carriers. Gunvor will have a significant equity interest in the other two newbuildings, the first for any independent LNG trading company, demonstrating the strength of Gunvor’s global position in the LNG market. All four vessels will enter long-term time charters with Clearlake Shipping, a subsidiary of Gunvor. Delivery will take place during 2026 and 2027.
Celsius and Gunvor are committed to push boundaries for available design improvements to reduce environmental impact. These vessels’ highly efficient design minimizes CO2 emissions and methane slip from operations via installation of air lubrication, enhanced reliquefication capacity, optimization of hull shape and use of the best available paint system to reduce the vessels’ friction in water. The vessels will be built to ABS class with Enviro+ notation for improved criteria for environmental protection.
Operational experience from Celsius’ current vessels demonstrates the efficiency of this design. The new order for four vessels at CMHI will be similar to the “ultra eco” Celsius vessels on order in Korea with improvements for emissions and reduced fuel consumption. The new vessels will be fitted with ME-GA propulsion.
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Source: Global Commodities Trading