# LNG Carriers Sold



## Thamesphil (Jul 22, 2005)

A very rare event in the shipping markets this week - two LNG carriers have reportedly been sold.

The METHANE ARCTIC and METHANE POLAR, both around 71,500 cbm and built in 1969 at Kockums, were sold by BG Group for around $80 million en-bloc to undisclosed interests.

The high price - for vessels that in other sectors of shipping would be classed as obsolete due to their age - reflects two things. Firstly, the fact that so few LNG carriers ever come on to the second hand market and any that do thus command a premium. Secondly, their superior construction means that they can trade well beyond the approximate 25 year lifespan that is commonplace for standard tankers and bulkers.

Phil


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## makko (Jul 20, 2006)

*Metals*

Or maybe, the exotic stainless in their construction makes them "premium" scrap buys.

Just a thought.......

Dave R.


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## Thamesphil (Jul 22, 2005)

Hi Dave,

Yes, their stainless steel content would make them attractive to the scrappers, but they would never pay that sort of price. Current scrap prices from Bangladesh are around the $400/ldt mark for standard tankers and around $500-550/ldt for stainless steel chemical tankers. An LNG carrier of this size, should it come into the demo market, would possibly get slightly more than $550. That's still under $8.5 million - a lot less than the $40 m per ship just obtained.

These ships still have a few years left in them and should be a sound investment for their new owners.

Cheers
Phil


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## makko (Jul 20, 2006)

*Worth their weight........*

Hi Phil,

Good point! Maybe I'm traumatised seeing as the first vessel I was sent to work on was the Nestor in Loch Striven, reactivation to take her to Le Havre for guarantee work. She never once carried a cargo for BF/Ocean.

I agree with you that these vessels should have a few years left in them. Also, the bulker/tanker existing market is on the up seeing as there are some very large contracts for very large container vessels. I believe a cape size bulker to be worth around 35M and a new build about 45-50M? Again, I think on a global scale, this was another factor pushing steel prices up. 

Saludos!

Dave


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