Choimet said during GTT’s third-quarter earnings call on Friday that the LNG carrier market “is demand-driven, and we’ve observed that shipyards have been increasing their available slots to meet shipowners’ needs.”
“Back in 2020, we estimated the capacity to be around 55 slots compared to approximately 70 slots today. We anticipate this rising to around 85 slots by early 2026, mainly due to the ramping up of Chinese shipyards,” he said.
Chomiet said that GTT believes that the number of slots could keep rising.
According to Choimet, the number of slots could increase by “10 to 15 slots” in 2028 compared to 2026.
“An additional benefit of this increased capacity is the potential expansion of the replacement market as any available slots could be used for this purpose. One factor that would limit shipyard capacity is if the supply chain fails to keep pace,” he said.
“We remain vigilant about ensuring the quality and capacity of our approved suppliers to deliver the essential components for membrane systems,” he said.
Up to 85 LNG carriers required for projects under construction
GTT booked orders for 68 LNG carriers in January-September of this year.
The company received orders for 73 LNG carriers last year, down from record 162 orders for LNG carriers in 2022 and higher than 68 orders in 2021.
During the call, Choimet also discussed the number of LNG carriers the market requires to ship contracted volumes of LNG from plants under construction.
The projects with start-up dates scheduled from 2024 to 2029 include the Golden Pass LNG project, the Rio Grande LNG project, QatarEnergy’s NFE LNG project, and the Plaquemines LNG project.
“To transport the additional 175 million tonnes per annum that these projects currently under construction will add to the LNG market by 2029, approximately 285 LNG carriers will be needed,” Choimet said.
“Following Q3 orders, around 200 ships have already been secured, leaving up to 85 more ships required in the near future,” he said.
