The Evangelos Marinakis-backed and US-listed shipping firm revealed the charter deal in its third-quarter report on Thursday.
The 174,000-cbm Athlos is currently under construction at Hyundai Samho and scheduled for delivery from the shipyard in the first quarter of 2027.
According to CCEC, previously known as Capital Product Partners, Athlos has been chartered for a firm period of seven years by a “major energy company”, with three one-year options.
Commencement of the charter is scheduled for the first quarter of 2028.
$3 billion in contracted revenues
CCEC noted it maintains the right to substitute Athlos with Archon, currently under construction at Hyundai Samho and also scheduled for delivery from the shipyard in the first quarter of 2027, further increasing its commercial flexibility.
As a result, CCEC now has an average remaining firm charter duration of 6.9 years and $3 billion in contracted revenues.
Should all extension options be exercised by charterers, the average duration would increase to 9.8 years, with total contracted revenues rising to $4.4 billion, CCEC said.
Three LNG carriers available for charter
CEO Jerry Kalogiratos said during the earnings call on Thursday that he is “happy to disclose that the counterparty for the latest contract award is a new name to our roster of energy majors, utilities, and traders, thus diversifying further our customer base.”
Nikos Tripodakis, chief commercial officer, also answered a question about whether the rate for the new charter is “roughly in line” with the two other charters that the company signed earlier this year, “sitting somewhere in the 80s.”
“The first comment is that this latest charter is higher than the previous two. We feel that this is on the high end of where the market has been over the past four to five months,” Tripodakis said.
Kalogiratos noted that it has been just two years since the company began its journey focused on gas transportation, following a rights issue in November 2023.
“Out of an eventual fleet of 18 LNG/Cs, CCEC now only has three latest generation LNG/Cs under construction that remain available for charter,” Kalogiratos said.
The CEO said that discussions regarding their future employment are underway with “multiple counterparties”, while the company remains insulated from prevailing spot LNG market conditions for the next 12 months.
“By consistently executing on its strategy, CCEC is well on its way to becoming the largest US-listed company dedicated to LNG and gas transportation,” Kalogiratos said.
