Belgium’s Exmar has agreed to buy back the on of the VLGCs from its lessor, closing the loop on a sale-and-leaseback struck some five years ago. The Antwerp-based owner said the 88,000 cu m Flanders Innovation is currently financed under a lease agreement that included a purchase option. The option price was set in Japanese yen, and thanks to currency movements against the US dollar, Exmar said it expects to book a gain of about $12m. Delivery of the ship back to Exmar is scheduled for the end of June 2026. According to S&P data, Exmar sold and bareboat chartered back the vessel in 2021 in a deal worth around $72m with Japan’s Doun Kisen. The buyback bolsters Exmar’s LPG owned fleet at a time when the group is also widening its scope. The company is best known for its fleet of more than 40 LPG carriers and floating gas terminals, but in September 2025 it moved into crude tankers with an order for four scrubber-fitted suezmaxes at Daehan Shipbuilding in South Korea. Deliveries of those ships are scheduled from the third quarter of 2027. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsBelgium