GasLog, the owner and operator of liquefied natural gas carriers posted a US$15.9 million loss compared to the $4.3 million profit for the corresponding period the previous year.
Paul Wogan, Chief Executive Officer said that during the quarter, GasLog took delivery of the GasLog Greece, the first of the eight newbuilding vessels on order.
The vessel has a ten-year contract with a subsidiary of Shell and is one of seven vessels with multi-year contracts due to be delivered between now and 2019.
“Through these long-term charters with Shell, GasLog has contracted revenue for 74% of the available days through to the end of 2018 giving significant revenue and cash flow visibility,” Wogan said.
He added that the short-term LNG shipping market continues to be challenging with a number of vessels waiting to service projects that have either been delayed or out of action in recent months. This resulted in low levels of overall fleet utilization.
GasLog’s revenues were at $104.4 million for the first quarter compared to the $97.3 million during the same quarter last year. The increase is due to new acquisitions and deliveries, although it has been partially offset by the adverse impact of the current weak spot market.
With projects coming online in Australia and the start of LNG exports from the United States, GasLog noted encouraging levels of tendering activity for vessels to transport these increased LNG volumes, with charterers considering on-the-water and newbuilding vessels for medium and long-term employment.
The long-term supply and demand outlook for LNG shipping is also positive as a future shortfall of vessels required for the new projects coming online is expected.
LNG World News Staff