Seapeak places $1.1 billion order for 5 LNG carriers at SHI

Written by Nick Blenkey
LNG carrier in Seapeak Livery

New corporate name brought new stack insignia to Seapeak fleet

Seapeak LLC reports that it has entered into shipbuilding contracts for the construction of five 174,000-cubic meter M-type (ME-GA propulsion) LNG carrier newbuildings. They are to be constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. for a total fully built-up cost of approximately $1.1 billion and are scheduled for delivery in 2027. On their deliveries, the five LNG carriers will each operate under a fixed-rate time-charter contract with an international energy major for a firm period of ten years, each of which can be extended at the option of the charterer.

Seapeak is the rebranded Teekay LNG Partners L.P., which in January, was acquired by investment vehicles managed by New York City headquartered Stonepeak in a $5.3 billion deal.

Seapeak says that it expects to finance the initial newbuilding construction installment payments through an equity contribution from investment funds managed by Stonepeak and that, in due course, it expects to secure long-term debt funding to finance the remaining construction costs.

EXPLORING AN ADJACENCY

This is Seapeak’s second interesting move within less than a month. At the time of its acquisition and rebranding it said that intended to “explore potential adjacencies” to its LNG carrier business. It seems one of those adjacencies is ethane/

On October 24, Seapeak reported that it had entered into sale and purchase agreement with Jaccar Holdings to acquire Greenship Gas Trust and Greenship Gas Manager Pte. Ltd. and their Evergas subsidiaries in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $700 million.

Evergas owns and operates two Very Large Ethane Carriers and eight Multigas/LNG Carriers. All are on fixed-rate timecharters to U.K.-based Ineos, a major player in the export of U.S. ethane, and are capable of burning gas as fuel. Evergas also controls six LPG carriers under leases ending in 2024. Its corporate and operational headquarters are in Copenhagen and Singapore, respectively.

Acquiring Evergas is another big step in Seapeak’s evolution as a leading owner and operator of liquefied gas carriers,” commented Mark Kremin, Seapeak’s CEO. “Just as we’re bullish on LNG, we’re also bullish on natural gas liquids (NGLs), especially given the even greener nature of NGLs. Already a world leader in NGLs, Ineos is now growing in LNG, and we are thrilled to be adding them as a key customer, further diversifying our portfolio.”

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