The freight cost of gas carriers reached a historical record

A global shortage of gas carriers has led to a record increase in rates for these vessels in the Atlantic.

Currently, transportation of American LNG by ship costs $400,000 per day, Bloomberg reports.

The rush to supply EU countries with natural gas leads to an acute shortage of gas carriers on the market, forcing companies to pay record high rates for transporting fuel to Europe.

Europe is trying to replace russian pipeline flows of LNG from suppliers, including the US and Nigeria. But there are few vessels available for the rest of the year, posing a new risk to global gas supplies in the winter.

Buyers are chartering all available vessels as demand for LNG increases as winter approaches. Customers are restrained from “releasing” the tankers back to the market, in case they are needed for any deliveries at short notice.

Last week, Shell Plc booked the Yiannis gas carrier to load US LNG in late October for delivery to Europe at a rate of $400,000 per day in both directions. According to traders and brokers, this deal is probably the most expensive in the history of the Atlantic basin.

Also last week, GAIL India Ltd booked the LNG Schneeweischen to load LNG from the US in early November. The cost of ship freight is approximately $360,000 per day.

“Atlantic LNG freight rates are up more than 300% in one month as bidders scramble to occupy the last remaining vessels ahead of winter,” commented Tim Mendelsohn, chief executive of Spark Commodities, which accepts spot freight valuations from LNG brokers. .

Rising energy prices this year have been a boon for gas carrier owners, who are seeing demand for vessels and significant increases in the cost of transporting products from diesel to petrochemicals. Traders and shipowners say buyers want to play it safe to avoid being left without supplies if it turns extremely cold this winter.