Gunvor to Charter Flex LNG Newbuild

Commodity trader Gunvor Group will charter a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier from shipping firm Flex LNG for up to 10 years, the two companies said on Monday.

Geneva-based Gunvor, which has said it wants to take a lead in energy transition by investing in cleaner natural gas, last year became the biggest trader in the burgeoning LNG market.

The initial contract is for five years, with options to extend to 10, the firms said. The vessel, with capacity to transport 173,400 cubic meters of LNG, is under construction at Korean yard Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.

"We look forward to taking delivery of one of the most technologically advanced LNG vessels in the world to serve our long term portfolio," Gunvor co-head of LNG Kalpesh Patel said in a statement.

The vessel, to be called Flex Artemis, is scheduled for delivery in August of next year. The terms of the time charter contract were not revealed, except to say that it will partly be based on a variable rate.

"We are very pleased to enter into this long-term charter with a top-tier customer like Gunvor," Flex LNG Management CEO Oeystein Kalleklev said.

Listed in New York and Oslo, Flex LNG is controlled by Norwegian-born billionaire investor John Fredriksen.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Kim Coghill)