Capital Clean Energy Carriers (CCEC), led by Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis, has signed long-term charter contracts with French energy giant TotalEnergies for two 174,000 cubic meter liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers.
The two vessels, built by HD Hyundai Samho, are expected to be delivered in the first quarter of 2027. They will be named Athlos and Archon for a period of 5 and 7 years respectively, with a 5-year extension option for each vessel. The charter contracts will take effect upon delivery of the vessels.
CCEC said it also has the option to replace the two vessels with other LNG carriers in its fleet. CCEC currently owns 12 LNG carriers, with another six new vessels about to join the fleet and three container vessels under long-term charter.
The deal with TotalEnergies extends CCEC’s backlog to 7.3 years of lease term and $3.1 billion in contract revenue (excluding options), which would bring the company’s backlog to $4.5 billion if options are exercised.
Mr. Jerry Kalogiratos, Chief Executive Officer of CCEC, commented: “We are very pleased that two of our LNG carriers under construction have secured long term employment well in advance of their scheduled delivery. In our view, these fixtures signal that the long-term fundamentals of LNG shipping remain robust for high quality owners like CCEC, operating latest generation LNG/Cs, despite the challenges in the short-term market. Moreover, together with certain options exercised by one of our existing charterers for three of our in-the-water LNG/Cs, our contract backlog duration increased to 7.3 years with $3.1 billion in contracted revenues. Additionally, the two new charters are expected to further improve the diversity and composition of our charter book, further de-risk our balance sheet and provide our investors with increasing cash flow visibility.”