Steel cut for CoolCo’s 2-stroke LNG carrier
Steel cut for CoolCo's 2-stroke LNG carrier - Offshore Energy
Steel cut for CoolCo’s 2-stroke LNG carrier
South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries has started the construction of a 2-stroke LNG carrier for Cool Company (CoolCo).
According to CoolCo’s brief social media update, the steel cutting ceremony for the LNG carrier was held on October 10, 2023.
The vessel named Kool Panther is one of two newbuild 2-stroke LNG carriers that CoolCo acquired from affiliates of Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS) earlier this year. Kool Panther and Kool Tiger were acquired under the pre-existing purchase option price of approximately $234 million.
At the time of purchase, CoolCo said it was in discussions to forward fix the vessels on long-term time charters, expecting to do so well in advance of delivery at levels that reflect current market strength.
Scheduled for delivery in September and December of 2024, the newbuilds will have a cargo capacity of 174,000 cubic meters, a GTT Mark III Flex Membrane cargo tank system, reliquefaction, air lubrication, and shaft generators.
CoolCo was formed in 2022 with Eastern Pacific Shipping and Golar LNG as shareholders. The company owns eight TFDE LNG carriers it acquired from Golar LNG as well as four LNG carriers bought from Quantum Crude Tankers Inc, an affiliate of Eastern Pacific Shipping (EPS).
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”