Avance Gas hands over seventh VLGC to Singapore’s BW LPG

Norway’s shipping company Avance Gas has delivered the seventh of a series of twelve very large gas carriers (VLGC) to Singapore-based ship owner and operator BW LPG under the $1 billion deal signed in August 2024.

As disclosed, the BW Pompero, which was built in 2015, was handed over on December 7. According to London-based data provider VesselsValue, the 53,800 dwt BW Pompero has a length of 226 meters, a beam of 36.6 meters, and a draft of 12.1 meters.

The Marshall Islands-flagged unit is currently believed to be on a variable time charter—novated to BW LPG—which is set to expire in August 2025. Concerning the delivery, 1.3 million shares in BW LPG were issued to Avance Gas, which projects to receive net cash proceeds amounting to $7 million.

Avance Gas announced the sale of the 12-vessel batch on August 15, stating that all were anticipated to be handed over by the end of December this year. The series comprises four 91,000 cubic meter dual-fuel VLGCs, of which two were built in 2022 and two in 2023, as well as eight 2015-built 83,000 cubic meter VLGCs, six of which are outfitted with exhaust gas cleaning systems, otherwise known as scrubbers.

The first vessel, called Chinook, was delivered by the beginning of November, followed by the second unit, BW Capella, the third named BW Sirocco, the fourth dubbed BW Passat, and the fifth one called Avance Levant (now known as BW Levant), which were all handed over by the end of that same month.

It is understood that this acquisition has the potential to add ‘significant’ scale to BW LPG’s fleet by increasing the number of owned and operated VLGCs from 41 to 53, of which 22 are LPG dual fuel.

Just one day before Pompero was welcomed by the Singaporean company, Avance Gas handed over the sixth ship, the 2023-built dual-fuel Avance Rigel, renamed BW Rigel. In connection with this, 2.1 million shares were reportedly issued to the Norwegian business. What is more, Avance Gas said that it expected to receive net cash proceeds of $30 million for this unit.