LNG Ship Estimates Slashed at Fearnley

(Bloomberg) — Hiring a modern carrier to ship liquefied natural gas in the spot market will cost less than previously estimated after Japanese prices for the fuel slid, Fearnley Securities AS said.

Charter rates for the vessels will average $125,000 a day in the fourth quarter and 2013’s first three months, below the prior $150,000, the Oslo-based investment bank said in an e- mailed report today. The drop in Japan narrowed the cost gap with the Atlantic region, leaving rates too high to profit from transporting LNG to Asia, it said.

North Asia would need a cold winter to widen the price difference and open the so-called arbitrage, and the LNG market will be weaker than expected in the current quarter, Fearnley said. Older LNG ships will earn $80,000 a day during the six months starting in October, the report showed.

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