Order for new LNG vessel trio lands on Korean player’s plate

December 31, 2025, by Melisa Cavcic

Greece-headquartered shipping player Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. (CCEC) has tasked South Korea’s HD Hyundai Samho (Hyundai) to construct three liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers (LNGC) set for delivery in 2028 and 2029.

A large vessel at sea — Illustration; Source: Capital Clean Energy Carriers (CCEC)

CCEC has secured three LNGC berths at Hyundai, with one vessel scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2028 and two further deliveries in the first quarter of 2029. The en-bloc shipbuilding price of these vessels is $769.5 million. The company has paid by December 29, 2025, $386.1 million in advance to shipyards towards the acquisition of its under-construction fleet.

The vessels, which have been designed to incorporate multiple upgrades in their specification, are expected to rank amongst the most efficient LNGCs in the global fleet in terms of fuel consumption and boil-off rates. With its latest order for three additional vessels, the company claims to reaffirm its strategic position as the largest U.S. listed LNG shipping company with 12 LNGCs currently in the water and nine on order.

The shipping player’s newbuilding deliveries span from the third quarter of 2026 to the first quarter of 2029, which coincides with the anticipated expansion of LNG liquefaction capacity from 493 mtpa to at least 649 mtpa by 2030.

CCEC has on order an additional ten gas carriers, including four handy LCO2/multi-gas carriers and six dual-fuel medium gas, with deliveries starting in the first quarter of 2026. The firm’s fleet benefits from approximately $3 billion of contracted revenue and an average remaining charter duration of 6.9 years.

Jerry Kalogiratos, CEO of CCEC, commented: “I believe that we have secured attractive pricing and payment terms for state of the art, high specification vessels, whose deliveries we expect to coincide with increased demand for LNG shipping from a number of LNG projects that are expected to come online in this timeline.

“Notably, this transaction allows CCEC to selectively contract the most attractive specification LNG/Cs for charterers, to be delivered at the most undersupplied part of the forward curve.”

CCEC’s in-the-water fleet includes 14 high specification vessels, including 12 latest generation LNGCs and two legacy Neo-Panamax container vessels, one of which has been agreed to be sold.