Knutsen announced the charter deals in a social media post on Friday, saying that three vessels will be chartered to Norway’s Equinor and one each to Italy’s Eni and SEFE Marketing and Trading, a unit of Germany’s SEFE.
However, Knutsen did not provide further details regarding the charter agreements.
The new LNG carriers will be built by Hanwha Ocean at its Geoje shipyard in South Korea and are scheduled to enter service between 2028 and 2029.
Each vessel will have a capacity of 174,000 cubic meters and will be equipped with ME-GI engines, “ensuring the lowest methane slip and enhanced environmental performance,” the company said.
This is the sixth vessel Knutsen chartered this month, following the recent announcement for one newbuild LNG carrier with Italian energy firm Edison, a unit of EDF.
Hanwha Ocean will also build this 174,000-cbm LNG carrier, which will start supporting Edison’s shipping activities from 2028.
Knutsen entered the LNG market after the delivery of its first LNG carrier in 2004.
The company set a new record with nine newbuildings delivered this year – eight LNG carriers and also one shuttle tanker.
It expects to take delivery of ten vessels in 2026.
Hanwha Ocean wins order for seven LNG carriers
Hanwha Ocean said in a stock exchange filing on Friday that it has secured an order from a European shipowner to build seven LNG carriers.
This announcement is probably related to these Knutsen vessels.
The shipbuilder said that it will deliver the LNG carriers by June 30, 2029.
According to Hanwha Ocean, the shipowner will pay approximately 2.59 trillion won ($1.75 billion) for these vessels.
This means that one LNG carrier costs approximately $250 million.
