The number of liquefied natural gas tankers on order has more than doubled after rates to charter the vessels soared because of demand for the fuel, according to the LNG unit of Braemar Seascope Ltd.
Rates to ship spot, or short-term, supplies of the fuel have climbed to around $90,000 a day this month from about $40,000 a year ago, prompting new vessel orders to reach 71 compared with 32 a year earlier, Debbie Turner, director of London-based BS Energy Services Ltd., said at the World LNG Series Asia Pacific Summit in Singapore yesterday.
Freight rates have advanced as Qatar sought smaller and more flexible vessels to ship to smaller ports, while Japan’s LNG demand has increased after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami shut nuclear plants, Turner said.
Of the 71 vessels on order, 21 remain without long-term charters in place, Turner said. The spot freight market may be “pretty tight” until 2013 after which new deliveries may ease the shortfall, she said.