Indonesia’s Buana Lautan Line has sealed a surprise purchase, adding the 138,000 cu m Seapeak Jupiter, a 2002-built steam turbine LNG carrier, for $14.9m. The vessel has been renamed Gas Polaris, marking a rare case of a vintage steam unit finding a second life rather than heading straight for recycling. The deal comes as Seapeak continues to trim its ageing steam fleet, which has become increasingly uneconomic amid high fuel costs and tightening emissions regulations. Several units have already been laid up, with the owner pivoting toward more modern tonnage. Earlier this year, Seapeak made headlines by selling the slightly younger Seapeak Mars (2004) for scrap — widely seen as the first LNG carrier earmarked for demolition in 2026. The broader picture remains bleak for steam LNG carriers. Spot and period earnings have collapsed, with MB Shipbrokers indicating rates of around $15,000 per day for one-year deals — levels that struggle to justify continued trading for many owners. Scrapping activity is accelerating. Last month, Malaysian owner MISC offloaded three similarly sized Japanese-built steam LNG carriers for demolition in Bangladesh at around $381 per ldt, while a total of 14 vessels built between 1995 and 2004 were scrapped in 2025 alone. Against this backdrop, Buana’s purchase stands out as a counter-cyclical move in a segment rapidly heading for the exit. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsIndonesia