South Korean shipowner Sinokor Merchant Marine has finally called time on one of its long laid-up steam turbine LNG carriers and sold it for demolition.
Brokers reported that the shipowner has sold the 126,911-cbm, Moss-type Adriatic Energy (ex-Echigo Maru, built 1983) to cash buyers for demolition in either India or Bangladesh.
One gives a lump sum price of between $21.3m and $21.8m on the 32,303-ldt vessel, which is among the 10 oldest ships in the global LNG carrier fleet.
He detailed that the seller has not given details of the special materials on board, leaving this to the cash buyer to determine. Moss-type LNG carriers traditionally have attracted higher prices due to the high quantity of aluminium alloy in their cargo tanks.
Those following the company said Sinokor previously offered the vessel for recycling several years ago and received bids of around $27m on the ship. But at the time it opted not to sell.
Brokers said the vessel was put back on the market around the new year, with negotiations on the ship being conducted in an on-off manner in the intervening period.
Sinokor does not typically comment on its commercial activities.
Including the Adriatic Energy, the media-shy shipowner is listed as having eight LNG carriers in its fleet, of which six are idle or laid up, one is under repair and another vessel is trading.
The company is also understood to have a single LNG carrier newbuilding under construction at Samsung Heavy Industries and has recently been reported as being in talks with TotalEnergies about the purchase of a secondhand LNG vessel.
Sinokor bought the Adriatic Energy from Japan’s NYK Line in 2017.
Shortly after the purchase, it emerged that the company was considering selling the ship for scrap.
But the market improved and the shipowner canned the sale.
In 2019, there was talk Sinokor was planning to reactivate and sell off several of its laid-up LNG carriers, including the Adriatic Energy. But the vessel has remained parked since the company bought it.
Clarksons’ Shipping Intelligence Network currently lists the ship as laid up.
The Adriatic Energy is the second LNG carrier sold for demolition since the start of this year.
In February, the 89,880-cbm Seapeak Arctic (ex-Arctic Spirit, built 1993) was sold for scrapping in India. Its 3,678 tonnes of aluminium content helped achieve a strong price of just over $15.2m for the 23,667-ldt vessel.
This already doubles the single-ship total for recycling in the sector over 2022, when a lone LNG carrier went for scrap.
The tougher environmental regulations, particularly the new Carbon Intensity Indicator ratings, are expected to accelerate the renewal of the LNG carrier fleet, particularly as steamships redeliver from term contracts.
In 2021, a record seven LNG carriers were sent for recycling in a sector that has traditionally seen few vessels scrapped, partly due to the non-corrosive nature of their cargoes but also ships’ employment on long-term contracts.
