Hamilton-based Flex LNG shipowner has won an extension for the charter of its 173,400 cbm LNG carrier Flex Resolute.
The shipowner, which has thirteen LNG carriers on the water, has received notice that the charterer of Flex Resolute, a supermajor, has exercised its first extension option.
The Oslo and New York-listed company said Flex Resolute was fixed on a three-year time charter on November 1, 2021, with the start of the charter in January 2022.
Under the time Ccharter, the charterer had options to extend the period by up to four additional years in two-year periods.
Following this option declaration, Flex Resolute is on a fixed hire contract until at least first quarter of 2027.
The charterer will then have a final option to extend the deal by another two years until 2029.
Øystein Kalleklev, chief executive of Flex LNG Management, commented: “We are pleased that the charterer of Flex Resolute has decided to extend the time charter. This means that earliest redelivery for the ship is 2027 where the charterer has a further option to extend her until 2029.”
“Flex LNG is well positioned with 95% charter coverage for 2024 and about 50 years of firm backlog. We have one ship, Flex Constellation, coming open this year during the second quarter when the freight market usually starts to tighten again after the seasonal adjustment coming out of the winter,” he added.
To remind, the shipowner has received notice that the charterer of Flex Constellation, a trading house, has decided not to utilize its extension option.
The ship was fixed on a three-year time charter on May 17, 2021, where the charterer had the option to extend the period by up to three years.
Now the company expects to take redelivery of the LNG carrier during the second quarter of 2024 and to “recontract the ship at more attractive levels than the previous contract.”
