Sources told LNG Prime that Yangzijiang recently decided to charter the LNG carrier due to a “good” spot market.
The sources said that Caravel’s Fleet Management is expected to manage the LNG carrier.
It appears that Switzerland-based energy trader Mercuria took the vessel on a short-term charter.
No further details have been revealed.
Back in October 2022, Yangzijiang announced it won its first order for large LNG carriers from a European owner.
The contract included two 175,000-cbm LNG carriers with delivery between 2025 and 2026.
Sources told LNG Prime at the time that Germany’s Hammonia Reederei was behind this order and that the vessels were each worth about $235 million.
In August 2024, Yangzijiang revealed that it had terminated shipbuilding contracts for two 175,000-cbm LNG carriers but did not disclose the customer’s name.
The shipbuilder said that “the customer defaulted on the milestone payment” with “zero deposit paid”.
Yangzijiang added the two vessels to its inventory.
The shipbuilder said it aims to complete the vessel construction utilizing internal funds and to resell the LNG carriers in the open market.
The first LNG carrier was nearing completion in May last year.
Sources said that Yangzijiang Shipbuilding is still probably looking to resell the two LNG carriers.
