Navigare welcomes new LPG carrier for charter with Shell

Navigare Capital Partners, a Danish company investing in maritime assets, has welcomed the second liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier, Navigare Gaia, to its fleet.

As disclosed, the vessel measures 220 meters in length with 84,000 cubic meters of carrying capacity. Navigare Gaia is on a five-year contract with oil major Shell.

The LPG carrier was recently loaded at the Shell Prelude FLNG facility. Navigare Capital Partners noted that Prelude FLNG is the largest floating offshore facility in the world, designed to remain moored for at least 25 years and produce LNG, condensate and LPG from an offshore field approximately 475 km north-east of Broome in Western Australia.

The Prelude FLNG unit can produce 3.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, 1.3 mtpa of condensate and 0.4 mtpa of LPG. The floating LNG facility is operated by Shell, through a joint venture with Inpex, KOGAS, and OPIC.

Recently, Shell hired compatriot player Wood to provide brownfield engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) solutions for its Prelude FLNG facility. 

“LPG (liquified petroleum gas) plays an important role in the energy transition as it provides access to clean cooking and heating for societies that currently rely on traditional fuels. Petroleum gas is also a key feedstock in the petrochemical sector, replacing oil-based naphtha.,” Navigare Capital Partners stated in a social media post.

In May this year, Japanese trading company Mitsui & Co. decided to invest in a maritime investment fund, managed by Navigare Capital Partners, targeting $650 million in capital focusing on sustainable shipping including green vessels and carriers.

Navigare was established in 2017 by Robert Maersk Uggla, the Chairman of Danish shipping major A.P. Moller Maersk. It has since formed and operated two maritime investment funds. Accumulated operating assets have reached approximately $2 billion.