Inflated spot charter rates for LNG tankers are easing as more ships becoming available, which could help increase LNG trade if Asian demand rises in coming months. Charter rates usually follow the price of LNG, which has fallen since September due to sluggish demand from Asian buyers. Rates have remained high for most of this year, hitting around $195,000 last month. Not many spot Atlantic cargoes have travelled east in recent months due to inflated shipping rates, with some companies having to arrange cargo swaps to reduce costs. But as more vessels become available for spot charters, rates have dropped to around $160,000 per day at the end of November. Demand for early next year is still mostly from the Asia-Pacific basin, such as ExxonMobil, BHP and the Australia Pacific LNG project which are looking for ships to load from Australia-based export plants in the first half of January. But some shipbrokers said charter rates will likely continue to fall, as supply could outweigh demand.
Source:Arrow
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