The spot market rates for liquefied natural gas vessels remain high, despite the stocks in the European market.
According to Intermodal’s latest data, a one-year contract for a DFDE LNG carrier stood at $105,000 per day, while the spot market rate for a 160,000 cbm vessel was at $96,250 per day, 32.75% higher compared with the previous year.
The fleet of LNG carriers currently consists of 725 ships, of which 557 ships are over 140,000 cbm, with an average age of 11 years.
The current order book corresponds to 51.78% of the fleet. At the same time, the prices of LNG newbuilds continue to show an upward trend, with the average price of newbuilds in Korean shipyards reaching $263 million. A price that is $2 million higher than last month, 6% higher than January 2023 and 9.6% year-on-year.
According to Intermodal data, ship recycling activity continues, as five LNG carriers with a total capacity of 600,000 cubic meters were sold for scrap in the first half of the year. In the market of LNG carriers, Greek shipowners are leading, controlling 22.65% of the world’s capacity, while running the largest, overall, investment program for new ships of this type.
