LaycanDeskLNG carrier chartering and freight
Conventional 160,000 and 174,000 cbm LNG carriers, medium and small-scale ships and FSRUs on spot voyage, time charter and multi-year charter. LNG carrier chartering from the freight side: conventional 160,000 and 174,000 cbm membrane and Moss ships, medium and small-scale carriers and FSRUs, fixed on LNGVOY spot voyages or ShellLNGTime-based time charters, from the US Gulf, Australia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Indonesia, Mozambique and Oman to Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, India, Europe, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
LNG is carried at about minus 162 degrees and part of it boils off every day of the voyage. The benchmark ship is the conventional carrier of 160,000 to 174,000 cbm that the Baltic Exchange and Spark Commodities assess; medium-scale ships of about 40,000 to 80,000 cbm and smaller carriers serve regional and bunkering trades, and the Q-Flex and Q-Max classes run to about 217,000 and 266,000 cbm. Containment is either Moss spherical tanks, independent of the hull, or GTT membrane, Mark III with a corrugated stainless steel barrier or NO96 with twin Invar membranes; membrane ships make up about three quarters of the conventional fleet and FSRUs. Propulsion decides boil-off and fuel cost: older steam turbine ships run at about 0.15 per cent of cargo a day, dual-fuel diesel-electric (DFDE and TFDE) ships at about 0.10 to 0.125 per cent, and the two-stroke ME-GI and X-DF ships lower still. Voyage length matters too: a US Gulf round trip to Asia is about 20 days via Panama against about 34 days via the Cape of Good Hope, and Neopanamax slot auctions and waiting time in 2026 have pushed cargoes onto the Cape route.
Spot cargoes are fixed on LNGVOY, the BIMCO and GIIGNL voyage form with a negotiated boil-off cap; time charters are fixed on ShellLNGTime 1 or forms built on it, from a single voyage to multi-year terms tied to an SPA. Owners quote only once the ship can be accepted: a current SIRE 2.0 inspection under the OCIMF programme, a ship-shore compatibility study with each terminal, and a plan for cool-down and heel, because a ship arriving warm or inerted has to gas up and cool down before loading, about 20 hours on a Moss ship and 10 to 12 on a membrane ship, while a ship keeping heel arrives cold. Send us the loading terminal, the discharge terminal or FSRU, the laycan, cargo size in cbm, the delivery basis (FOB or DES), the heel and cool-down requirement, the compatibility status at both ends and the charterer's name. That goes to owners of ships that can be accepted at both terminals, and the enquiry is screened before any owner sees it. Market levels are read from the Baltic LNG routes BLNG1 to BLNG3, the Spark30 and Spark25 assessments and Clarksons reports, not quoted here.
How it ships
- About minus 162 °C, boil-off every day
- Moss spheres or GTT Mark III / NO96 membrane
- Steam turbine, DFDE/TFDE, ME-GI, X-DF
- Gassed up and cooled down, or arriving with heel
- SIRE 2.0 and terminal compatibility first
Load areas
- US Gulf (Sabine Pass, Corpus Christi, Cameron, Freeport, Plaquemines)
- Australia
- Malaysia and Indonesia
- Nigeria
- Mozambique (FLNG)
- Oman (Qalhat)
Discharge areas
- Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China
- India
- Europe, incl. German FSRUs (Wilhelmshaven, Brunsbüttel)
- Bangladesh (Moheshkhali FSRUs)
- Pakistan (Port Qasim FSRUs)
Ships that carry it
Questions charterers and owners ask
Membrane or Moss: does it matter to the charterer?
Yes, at the terminal and in the voyage cost. The ship has to fit the terminal's compatibility study, and cool-down takes about 20 hours on a Moss ship against 10 to 12 hours on a membrane ship. Membrane ships, GTT Mark III and NO96, are about three quarters of the conventional fleet.
Why do owners ask about heel and cool-down?
Because a ship that arrives warm or full of inert gas must be gassed up and cooled down with terminal LNG before she loads, which takes time and cargo. A ship that kept heel on the ballast leg arrives cold. The enquiry should say whether heel is to be retained or sold, and whether the loading terminal offers gassing up and cool-down.
Which charter form is used?
Spot voyages are commonly fixed on LNGVOY, published by BIMCO and GIIGNL, which carries a negotiated boil-off cap. Time charters, from one voyage to multi-year terms behind an SPA, are most often on ShellLNGTime 1 or forms derived from it.
Where do you read the freight market?
From published assessments: the Baltic Exchange routes BLNG1 Australia to Japan, BLNG2 US Gulf to Continent and BLNG3 US Gulf to Japan, the Spark30 Atlantic and Spark25 Pacific assessments, and Clarksons reports. We do not publish levels on this page.
What must a charterer send before owners will quote?
Loading terminal, discharge terminal or FSRU, laycan, cargo size in cbm, FOB or DES basis, heel and cool-down requirement, ship-shore compatibility status at both ends and the charterer's name. Without compatibility at both terminals an owner cannot offer a ship.