Japanese LPG trading house Gyxis Corporation has sealed its third timecharter contract in two months.
Compatriot shipping company Kumiai Navigation has ordered an 82,200 m³ very large gas carrier from Kawasaki Heavy Industries to service a shipping contract with Gyxis.
On 30 September ‘K’ Line ordered a similar ship from the same shipbuilder and both will be delivered by the second quarter of 2017.
The vessel price was not disclosed but South Korean LPG shipping company KSS Line ordered a similar ship from Hyundai Heavy Industries in August, also to fulfill a shipping contract with Gyxis, and that ship was valued at about USD139 million.
Gyxis Corporation was formed in March 2015 through the merger of the LPG units of Cosmo Oil, Showa Shell Sekiyu, TonenGeneral Sekiyu, and Sumitomo Corporation.
Gyxis said, “Currently we sell 1 million tonnes of LPG in Japan and another 1 million tonnes abroad. With the aim of expanding overseas trade, we’re expanding our operated fleet towards our goal of selling 6 million tonnes of LPG a year.
“By strengthening our transport capacity, we can lower our procurement costs as we strive to be a company of choice to our customers.”
Japan remains the world’s biggest LPG trader although its demand for LPG is falling due to a preference for LNG and coal.
This post was sourced from IHS Maritime 360: View the original article here.
