State-owned QatarEnergy has withdrawn its offer to sell 9-10 older steam turbine LNG carriers, possibly because the company is increasing transits on the strait of Hormuz, for which older carriers are preferred.
QatarEnergy initially marketed these LNG carriers in August, but LNG Hormuz transits have ramped up significantly since then.
The older, less efficient carriers are near scrap value and have much cheaper insurance for Hormuz transits relative to newbuild carriers, which can be around 10 times the price.
Steam turbines carriers have typically been sold for around $11mn-25mn at scrap value, but can be worth up to $48mn if they remain functional for the company. Comparatively, tri-fuel diesel electric (TFDE) can be valued as much as $100mn and newbuild carriers at $250mn, charterers said.
Additional war risk premiums to charter steam turbines for loading at LNG terminals in the Mideast Gulf are also much lower than for TFDE and two-stroke vessels. The additional war risk premium is about 10pc of the vessel's outright value.
The steam turbine carriers mostly sail to nearby ports such as those in India. But QatarEnergy has also kept older steam carriers near Hormuz, with the 137,000m³ Al Rayyan last month having transshipped a cargo onto a more modern carrier for onward delivery.
Initially, market participants thought Russia's Novatek might want the steam turbine carriers because of the upcoming European ban on deliveries from the 17.4mn t/yr Yamal LNG to EU destinations, as well as requirements to serve loadings at the US-sanctioned 19.8mn t/yr Artic LNG 2 terminal.
At least eight steam turbine vessels have been sold so far this year for undisclosed business interests, traders said. These ships are likely additions to the Russian LNG fleet.
QatarEnergy pulling its steam turbine LNG carriers from sale takes then ships off the market that may have been of interest to Russian buyers.
