Flex LNG bags charter extension for Flex Resolute with ‘super major’

LNG shipping company Flex LNG has secured an extension of the charter of its LNG carrier Flex Resolute that will keep the vessel on a fixed-hire contract until at least the first quarter of 2027.

The 2020-built Flex Resolute was fixed on a three-year time charter on November 1, 2021, with the commencement of the contract in January 2022. The charterer had options to extend the period by up to four additional years in two-year periods.

On January 18, 2023, Flex LNG said it had received notice that the charterer of Flex Resolute, ‘a super major’, has exercised its first extension option, keeping the vessel on a fixed-hire contract until the first quarter of 2027.

The charterer will then have a final option to extend the contract by another two years until 2029.

According to data from VesselsValue, the charterer of Flex Resolute is UK-headquartered energy giant BP.

The vessel was built by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), now known as Hamwha Ocean, and is capable of transporting up to 173,400 cubic meters of LNG. It features ME-GI engines and is Flex LNG’s second vessel with a full reliquefaction system (FRS) bringing the boil-off rate down to 0.035% per day.

Øystein Kalleklev, CEO of Flex LNG Management AS, said: “We are pleased that the charterer of Flex Resolute has decided to extend the Time Charter. This means that earliest redelivery for the ship is 2027 where the charterer has a further option to extend her until 2029.

“Flex LNG is well positioned with 95% charter coverage for 2024 and about 50 years of firm backlog. We have one ship, Flex Constellation, coming open this year during the second quarter when the freight market usually starts to tighten again after the seasonal adjustment coming out of the winter.”