The Economou family's TMS Cardiff Gas Ltd. has exercised options on its contracts with Hyundai Heavy Industries of Korea for the construction of an additional two 78,700 cbm LPG carriers.
Both vessels are scheduled for delivery in Q4 2017, when they will enter into ten year timecharter contracts with Clearlake Shipping Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of Gunvor Group.
The vessels will be tradeable across both, the new and old Panama canal, and will be built to the highest industry specifications, as per TMS Cardiff Gas standards.
These orders mark the Group's further expansion into the LPG sector, currently with a fleet of four VLGCs, all with secured term employment upon delivery. The Group maintains its appetite for further growth in the sector, which is reflected in additional capacity made available by HHI.
In September, the Athens-based company ordered four 84,000-cbm LPG carriers for $76m each from HHI, which marked TMS’ diversification from LNG carriers and into petroleum gases.
TMS Cardiff Gas Ltd. was established in 2011 as part of the TMS Group of related shipping companies to manage the Group's Gas fleet and operations. The Company manages a fleet of five in the water LNG carriers and four VLGC newbuilds.