The LoI is for one 18,600-cbm LNG bunkering vessel.
Sources told LNG Prime that Ibaizabal added another option to the original deal signed last year with Hudong-Zhonghua, which included one firm and one optional vessel for French energy giant TotalEnergies.
However, the sources said that this third option would not be backed by a charter with TotalEnergies but by another unnamed company.
This deal is expected to be finalized in the upcoming months.
If confirmed, the vessel is expected to be delivered at the end of 2027, they said.
Ibaizabal could splash about $90 million on this order.
In addition to this new vessel, the sources also said that the option for the second TotalEnergies vessel is also expected to be exercised in the upcoming months.
Moreover, the sources said the new Ibaizabal vessel would have similar specifications as the first TotalEnergies newbuild.
In March this year, Hudong-Zhonghua started building the first newbuild (H1930A) which will serve TotalEnergies.
The new LNG bunkering vessel will be 135.9 meters long, 24.5 meters wide, and 16 meters deep.
Hudong-Zhonghua said the newbuild is an upgraded version of the 18,600-cbm LNG bunkering ships, Gas Vitality and Gas Agility, which the shipbuilder previously built for owner Japan’s MOL and charterer TotalEnergies.
This 2.0 version has “better ship-to-shore compatibility, lower energy consumption and emission, and better energy saving and environmental protection.”
