Turkey's BOTAŞ launches tender for 940-day LNG carrier charter
State pipeline operator BOTAŞ has opened an open tender to charter one LNG carrier for a fixed 940-day period, with bids due by 15 October.
BOTAŞ Petroleum Pipeline Co. announced an open tender for the time charter of a single LNG carrier, specifying a vessel built in 2015 or later with a capacity between 173,600 and 175,000 cubic metres. The charter will run for a firm 940 days, with a flexibility clause allowing the period to be adjusted by up to 60 days, and bids must be priced in US dollars based on a daily hire rate. Interested parties must submit ownership records, class status, a recent SIRE 2.0 inspection report and an LNG Form B detailing fuel consumption and other technical parameters, and demonstrate at least one LNG carrier charter in the past five years.
The tender excludes consortiums and imposes a strict sanctions-compliance filter covering the United Nations, EU, UK, US and the Republic of Türkiye. Although the process falls outside Turkish Public Procurement Laws No. 4734 and 4735, penalty and de-barment rules still apply. Securing this vessel supports BOTAŞ’s strategy to lock in shipping capacity while Turkey expands its LNG import terminals at Marmara Ereğlisi, Aliağa, Dörtyol and Saros and grows re-export volumes to neighbours such as Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Syria, especially as long-term supply contracts approach renewal.
Why it matters
The charter will give Turkey guaranteed LNG transport capacity as it seeks to become a regional gas hub.
In this story
