Belships ASA to acquire three new Ultramax bulk carriers
Belships has entered into agreements for the acquisition of three new 64 000 Ultramax bulk carriers which are being constructed at Japanese shipyards. Delivery of each vessel is expected in Q4 2024, Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. The vessels are fully financed through time charter lease agreements, each for a period of 7 up to 10 years, with purchase options at current market levels during the charter. There is no obligation to purchase the vessels. Belships is not required to make any down payment for this transaction. Cash breakeven for the vessels upon delivery will be about USD 14 000 per day. The agreements are conditional upon certain steps to be completed by the parties involved.
Belships will be taking over new vessels whilst the orderbook and supply side approaches the lowest levels seen in 30 years. New Japanese-design Ultramax bulk carriers represent the highest quality and lowest fuel consumption available in the market today.
“We are able to increase our fleet without investing any cash, this will therefore not affect our dividend capacity in the near future. We also believe the best way for us to approach the green shift is to acquire the most efficient vessels available and pair it with a financing structure which gives us a bridge to the future with optionality and flexibility” said Belships CEO, Lars Christian Skarsgård.
Belships ASA is a fully integrated owner and operator of geared bulk carriers. Including announced transactions, the owned fleet will consist of 34 Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers with an average of about 4 years. Lighthouse Navigation, a subsidiary of Belships, is a dry bulk operator with offices in Oslo, Bangkok, Singapore and Melbourne. Based on current market expectations, we expect to generate significant free cash flow and aim to pay quarterly dividends as announced with our dividend policy.