Norwegian shipping firm Flex LNG, the owner of 13 liquefied natural gas carriers, has secured a time charter extension for its vessel, Flex Courageous.
The shipping firm controlled by billionaire John Fredriksen said on Friday that the charterer of the 2019-built 173,400-cbm LNG carrier had exercised its first extension option.
Flex said the charter is a “super major”.
UK-based energy giant BP is the charterer of this vessel, as well as of the 2020-built 173,400-cbm LNG carrier, Flex Resolute, which recently secured a charter extension.
Flex Courageous was fixed on a three-year time charter on November 1, 2021, together with Flex Resolute, starting in February 2022.
Under the deal, the charterer had options to extend the period by up to four additional years in two-year periods.
Following this first option declaration, Flex Courageous will be firm until first quarter of 2027, according to Flex.
The charterer will then have a final option to extend the charter by another two years until 2029, it said.
CEO Øystein Kalleklev said Flex has about 94 percent charter coverage for the remaining part of 2024, “so we remain well positioned with only one ship, Flex Constellation, coming open during the second quarter which is usually when the freight market starts to tighten again after the seasonal adjustment coming out of the winter.”
Flex said in January that the 2019-built 173,400-cbm, Flex Constellation, will be available for charter later this year after a trading house decided not to utilize its extension option.
