Capital Clean Energy Carriers lands long-term fixtures for LNG newbuilds

Evangelos Marinakis-backed Capital Clean Energy Carriers (CCEC) has secured long-term employment for two of its LNG carriers under construction in South Korea.

The Nasdaq-listed company has fixed the 174,000 cu m at vessels to be named Athlos and Archon for five and seven years, respectively, with a five-year extension option for each ship.

The charters are set to kick in after delivery from HD Hyundai Samho in the first quarter of 2027, with brokers naming French energy major TotalEnergies behind the deal.

CCEC said it also has the option to substitute the two vessels with other LNG carriers from its fleet.

The company currently has 12 LNG carriers, with six more newbuilds set to join the fleet and three legacy boxships fixed on long-term charters.

The latest deals have lifted CCEC’s charter backlog duration to 7.3 years with $3.1bn in contracted revenues, excluding options, which, if exercised, would lift the company’s backlog to $4.5bn.

“In our view, these fixtures signal that the long-term fundamentals of LNG shipping remain robust for high-quality owners like CCEC, operating the latest generation of LNG carriers, despite the challenges in the short-term market,” said Jerry Kalogiratos, chief executive of CCEC, adding that the company is in talks with multiple charterers for potential fixtures of its four remaining newbuilds.