Flex LNG charters out four carriers to Cheniere
LNG fleet owner Flex LNG has reached a deal to charter out four of its LNG carriers to US LNG exporter Cheniere, with an option for leasing out a fifth vessel, the company said on April 14.
Flex LNG will deliver its Flex Vigilant newbuild to Cheniere in May 2021 after it has left the shipyard, followed by two of its existing LNG carriers in the third quarter of 2021 and a third in the third quarter of 2022. Cheniere has an option to take out the fifth vessel next year.
The firm charter period for each of the four vessels is between three and three and a half years, with an option for two-year extensions.
"Our large and energy-efficient ships are particularly well suited for their long-haul trade and align with Cheniere’s efforts to secure required shipping capacity while improving the environmental performance of their overall fleet," Flex LNG CEO Oystein Kalleklev said in a statement.
Flex LNG's tankers all have capacities of around 174,000 m3, and are fitted with dual-fuel, two-stroke propulsion, making them "particularly ideal for large parcel, long haul transportation with the industry's lowest carbon footprint and unit transportation cost," Flex LNG said.
Cheniere operates the Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass LNG terminals in Texas.