Norwegian shipowner BW LNG has taken delivery of its 174,000m³ BW Helios LNG carrier from South Korea's Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME).
The carrier, which will sail under a term charter with BP, is the second LNG carrier to join BW LNG's fleet so far this year, after the 174,000m³ BW Lesmes was delivered by DSME in March. BW LNG has a further two carriers remaining on its orderbook — the 174,000m³ BW Iris and same-sized BW Cassia — which are due for delivery in August-September 2022.
A total of three new LNG carriers have joined the global LNG fleet so far in May, with Greek owners TMS Cardiff Gas and Alpha Gas each receiving a carrier earlier this month. A further three carriers are scheduled to join the global fleet by the end of the month, with Danish owner Celsius, Norwegian firm Flex LNG and Japanese owner NYK Lines all due to pick up a single carrier.
LNG carrier deliveries are expected to slow from the third quarter, with 12 scheduled for both the third and fourth quarters of this year, before slowing further in 2022-23.
Additions to the global carrier orderbook for delivery before the start of 2024 may also be unlikely, with Norwegian owner Golar citing limited remaining capacity at shipyards to make carrier deliveries ahead of 2024. This suggests that the orderbook for the rest of 2021 through 2023 is unlikely to increase substantially.
