Financing & operating Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)

Abstract

A research for the financing and operating the Liquefied Natural Gas vessels in this study is presented. The LNG market is developing at a high rate over the last years. More and more companies make efforts in order to enter in this market but the capitals that are required for the financing an LNG vessel are huge. Consequently, the shipping companies in order to be financed either through the Financial Institutions or through the Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) have to generate huge cash flows. Through a cash flow projection model various issues are examined regarding the financing of an LNG vessel such as the investigation of the ability of a company to pay off the loan and the interest, the profitability of the company operating this kind of vessel on a Time Charter basis and finally the alternative investments for other kind of vessels. Analyzing the data and information which has been provided during the research is proved that the financing of an LNG vessel comprises for a shipping company a profitable investment taking also into consideration the new opportunities that are opened entering in the NLG market and the strategic advantages that can be achieved.