Monaco-based, Greek-owned LNG shipping company Dynagas fully utilised its six tankers last year and expects high utilisation in 2016 -17.
The company's fleet comprises the 150,000m³ Ob River, 150,000m³ Amur River, 155,000m³ Yenisei River, and 155,000m³ Lena River, which are on charter to Russian state-controlled Gazprom; the 150,000m³ Clean Energy chartered to UK firm BG, and the 155,000m³ Arctic Aurora to Norway's state-controlled Statoil.
Dynagas reported a 99pc utilisation for its fleet last year and its vessels are fully contracted in 2016 and at 83pc so far next year.
The company entered the vessel-marketing Cool Pool with fellow LNG shipping companies Golar and Gaslog last year, allowing the firms to optimise spot market utilisation.
And Dynagas signed a 15-year time-charter deal with Russia's Yamal LNG consortium to build five 172,000m³ LNG carriers. The first two vessels should be delivered in fourth-quarter 2017 and three in the first quarter of 2019.
The three-train 16.5mn t/yr Yamal LNG project is scheduled to start up next year, export to Asia-Pacific markets on ice-class LNG carriers during the June-October navigation season on the Northern Sea Route.
