Exmar LPG, a joint venture of Exmar NV and Teekay LNG Partners, has reached an agreement with South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) to take over and novate an existing newbuilding contract for an LPG carrier.
The 38,000 cbm fully-refrigerated midsize gas carrier (MGC) is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2018, according to Exmar.
“The acquisition is consistent with the Exmar LPG Joint Venture’s strategy of fleet renewal to preserve its market share and contract of affreightment (CoA) franchise with its customers in both the Ammonia and LPG trade,” Teekay LNG Partners said in a separate statement.
The installment payments on the vessel are expected to be financed by Exmar LPG’s existing liquidity and the joint venture expects to secure long-term financing prior to delivery.
Currently, Exmar LPG has three MGC LPG newbuildings on order at Hanjin Subic shipyard in the Philippines. The three 38,000 cbm vessels are expected to join the company’s fleet in 2017 and 2018.