Flex LNG charters 5th LNG carrier to Cheniere

Norwegian shipping company Flex LNG has entered into a time charter party agreement with a unit of U.S. LNG exporter Cheniere for Flex Aurora LNG carrier.

Cheniere Marketing declared the option to employ a fifth LNGC from Flex LNG under the time charter agreements from April 2021.

The parties agreed that Flex Volunteer will be the fourth ship under the deal. The LNG carrier will be delivered to Cheniere in mid-April 2022 rather than during the third quarter of 2022.

The 3.5 years time charter has therefore been extended by about 2.5 months to facilitate early delivery of the ship to Cheniere.

Flex Aurora will be the fifth ship to be delivered to Cheniere. The ship will start the 3.5-year time charter during the third quarter of 2022 according to the original agreement.

Last year, Cheniere took delivery of Flex Vigilant, Flex Endeavour, and Flex Ranger under time charters with a minimum duration of between 3 and 3.8 years.

All existing Flex LNG ships are large LNGCs with a cargo capacity of approximately 173,400 to 174,000 cubic meters. They feature dual-fuel two-stroke propulsion (MEGI/XDF).

The time charter party agreements remain subject to certain closing conditions in connection with the delivery and acceptance of the LNG carriers to Cheniere.