New Gunvor and Solvang JV orders Panamax VLGC quintet

Stavanger-based owner Solvang and Geneva´s commodity trader Gunvor Group have formed a joint venture to own and operate five next-generation panamax VLGCs.

The Norwegian LPG, ammonia and petrochemical tonnage provider Solvang, with a fleet of 23 vessels, together with Gunvor Group have ordered five VLGC newbuilds from Hyundai Heavy Industries, that are scheduled for delivery from September 2026 to July 2027.

All five vessels will be on long-term time charter to Clearlake Shipping, Gunvor’s chartering arm, and will be ready for zero emission technology.

The new vessels will have a capacity of 88,000 cbm, which is the largest LPG load currently able to transit through the old Panama Canal, and the vessels will be the largest of the existing VLGCs in the Solvang Panamax fleet.

“Gunvor’s partnership with Solvang demonstrates our commitment to investing in the future of shipping, with the latest, most environmentally responsible vessels,” said Frédéric Meeus, member of Gunvor’s executive committee and head of Naphtha & LPG. “This joint venture also underscores Gunvor’s expanding presence in the growing global LPG market,” Meeus added.

The VLGC newbuilds also incorporate environmental technology developed through 12 years of Solvang’s ECO LPG Carrier program.

The package includes hull optimization, shaft and propeller improvements, exhaust gas recirculation, and the highly effective open-loop scrubber designed by Wärtsilä.

“We are very pleased to strengthen and expand our relationship with Gunvor with the joint venture to co-own five VLGC newbuilds,” said Edvin Endresen, chief executive of Solvang. Endresen noted that “the VLGC newbuilds will be designed for onboard carbon capture, a solution we believe will be defining the next generation of LPG vessels.”

“These Panamax VLGC newbuilds are a particular compromise between loading capacity, fuel consumption, operational speed and physical dimensions of the hull to pass through the canal locks. All these factors add up in the environmental performance of the ship,” stated Tor Øyvind Ask, Solvang’s fleet director.