First Very Large Gas Carrier Scrapped in 43 Months as Global Fleet Begins to Age

The 1992-built sanctioned Very Large Gas Carrier (VLGC) Double In has entered India’s Alang ship-breaking yard, the first VLGC to be scrapped since February 2023, data from shipbroker Clarksons showed.

The Double In, a sanctioned carrier, which shipped liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to China since mid-2024, was marked for demolition in August.

It’s the first VLGC to be scrapped since the Gas Spirit I, amid a decline in Iranian LPG shipments over the past few months. Lloyd’s List noted that 28 sanctioned carriers – across all fleets – have been scrapped so far this year in India, signaling growing pressure on ageing sanctioned tonnage.

Earlier this year, in March, the sanctioned semi-refrigerated LPG carrier Al Diab II was also scrapped, Clarksons data added.

From an export perspective, Iranian LPG shipments have also come under pressure over the last few months with August output falling by more than half compared to February levels, data from shipping analytics provide Vortexa showed.

LPG shipments totaled 428,000 metric tons in August. Although that’s slightly up from the 404,000 mt in July, they remain considerably below 816,000 mt in April when the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz began.

Reporting by Jamie Aldridge, jaldridge@opisnet.com; Editing by Rob Sheridan, rsheridan@opisnet.com