A 13-year-old steam turbine LNG carrier has been taken on a multi-year time charter by CNTIC VPower, the joint venture developing Myanmar’s first LNG import project.
Brokers reported that the 145,127-cbm Methane Alison Victoria (built 2007) had been fixed for three years at a rate around the $30,000-per-day mark.
The vessel is due to be delivered to its charterers shortly and is expected to be used as a floating storage unit.
GasLog and daughter company GasLog Partners control six steam turbine LNG carriers built between 2006 and 2007.
In its interim results briefing, the company said these vessels, which are often smaller and less efficient than modern LNG carriers, are best suited to trading shorter distances and mentioned their use in connection with the opening up of new markets.
Replacement
TradeWinds understands the GasLog ship will replace the Golar LNG-controlled, 162,000-cbm Golar Kelvin (built 2015), which had been used for shipments.
The Golar Kelvin loaded a first cargo for Myanmar from Petronas in Malaysia in early June. But the project used a small LNG carrier — the 19,474-cbm Surya Aki (built 1996) — to shuttle in shipments from the larger vessel, which was stationed off the Malaysian coast.
The Golar vessel recently loaded a second Malaysian cargo and shifted its position to a location off Myanmar to the south of Yangon.
It is unclear when the vessel swap will take place. Ship tracking data currently shows the GasLog vessel entered Sembcorp’s yard in Singapore in early July and is still at the facility.
CNTIC VPower had been expected to use a former North West Shelf, Moss-type LNG carrier it had recently purchased as the replacement FSU.
In June, TradeWinds reported the company had paid out $28m to Turkey’s Karpowership for the 127,363-cbm Northwest Seaeagle (built 1992).
The vessel has since been renamed CNTIC VPower Energy but remains at Sembcorp’s yard and it is unclear where the joint venture plans to deploy it.
The Covid-19 lockdowns in the island republic have delayed work on many projects at Singaporean yards.
Moving parts
CNTIC VPower has put in a quick-to-start-up import solution for Myanmar, but one that has several moving parts.
The company bought a 28,000-cbm Chinese newbuilding that had been offered for resale, renamed it the CNTIC VPower Global and brought the vessel to its import site on the Yangon River as a mini FSU.
The CNTIC VPower Global is moored to a barge-based mobile filling platform (MFP), designed and built by Singapore-based LNG Easy, which is connected to the shore.
Cargoes are imported by the large FSU, transshipped on to the small shuttle ship — which has up to now been the Surya Aki — and then transshipped again into the small FSU and sent ashore via the MFP.
One of the issues with the Myanmar site is that it is draught restricted, which prevents access for large size LNG vessels.
CNTIC VPower is a joint venture between Chinese engineering procurement and development contractor China National Technical Import & Export Corp and power generation system developer VPower Group.
VPower Group International Holdings is building three LNG-to-power projects in Myanmar, which together will have a combined generating capacity of 900MW.
They are listed as the 400MW Thaketa, 350MW Thanlyin and 150MW Kyaukphyu power plants.
