London: Rents for ships hauling liquefied natural gas (LNG) reached a record as winter fuel demand runs up against few available vessels, investment bank Pareto Securities said.
The cost of hiring an LNG carrier for a year rose to $150,000 (Dh550,920) a day, 11 per cent higher than the previous week, the bank said, citing broker estimates.
One-time cargoes cost $145,000 a day, up 16 per cent from the week before.
Charter rates will extend gains as few vessels are available for immediate shipments and only six new vessels will join the fleet next year, Per Kristian Reppe, a Pareto analyst, said. Japanese demand for LNG rose as the island nation seeks to replace nuclear power capacity lost since the March earthquake and tsunami, Morgan Stanley said in a report.
Tight market
"We definitely see a tight market," Reppe said. "We don't think anyone should be surprised if rates start to boom further in the seasonally strong first quarter." Average daily rates for spot cargoes more than doubled this year to $91,000 from $40,858 in 2010, according to Pareto. Demand for the ships will grow 8 per cent in 2012.
