LNG charter rates soar as ships vanish from market

Rates for LNG carriers hit new heights this week as the supply of tonnage for winter loadings all but dried up.

The market was set alight by reports that the 162,000-cbm Adam LNG (built 2014) had been fixed to JERA-controlled LNG Marine Transport (LMT) at a rate around the $200,000-per-day mark. The ship was relet from trader Trafigura for an Australia-Japan spot lifting from the end of November.