South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering’s (DMSE) Okpo yard has launched Flex Courageous, Flex LNG’s 173,400 cbm LNG carrier newbuild.
The vessel is fitted with slow speed two stroke dual fuel engine with high pressure gas injection (ME-GI).
“She will be Flex LNGs sixth vessel in operation once completed next summer and will enter a very tight LNGC market. Flex LNG also has five vessels due for delivery in 2020 and two in 2021, all together a fleet of 13 large advance LNGCs,” Oeystein Moksheim Kalleklev, CEO of Flex LNG, said commenting on the launch.
In addition to Flex Courageous, which is available for charter as of the third quarter of 2019, DSME is also scheduled to deliver Flex Constellation to the company in Q2, 2019.
Last October, the Oslo-listed owner of LNG carriers finalized the acquisition of five LNG carrier newbuilds, currently being built in South Korea, from affiliates of Geveran Trading, the company’s largest shareholder.
The 5th generation ships comprise three MEGI LNG carriers under construction at DSME with scheduled delivery in 2020 and two X-DF LNG carriers being built by Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries (HSHI) with scheduled delivery in 2021.
Flex LNG currently has four vessels on the water and nine additional LNG carriers under construction, making it the largest owner of 5th generation LNGCs.
Image Courtesy: Oeystein Moksheim Kalleklev; CEO of Flex LNG