Belships ASA: Acquisition of a new Ultramax bulk carrier
New Japanese-design Ultramax bulk carriers represent the highest quality and lowest fuel consumption available in the market
Belships has entered into agreement for the acquisition of a new 64 000 Ultramax bulk carrier which is being constructed at a Japanese shipyard. Delivery of the vessel is expected within Q4 2025 to Q1 2026. The vessel is financed on a similar structure as the previously announced acquisition of three vessels in February. The agreement is conditional upon certain steps to be completed by the parties involved, the company said in its media release.
Including the previous announcements, Belships now has a total of four newbuildings under construction in Japan during 2024 to 2026. Belships is not required to make any down payments for these transactions. All four vessels are fully financed through time charter lease agreements for a period of 7 to 10 years, with purchase options around current market levels during the charter. There is no obligation to purchase the vessels. Cash breakeven for the vessels upon delivery will be about USD 14 000 per day.
Belships will be taking over new vessels whilst the orderbook and supply side in the dry bulk market approaches the lowest levels in decades. 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 again without investing any cash, this will therefore not affect our dividend capacity,” said Belships CEO, Lars Christian Skarsgård.
Including announced transactions, the owned fleet will consist of 35 Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers with an average of about 4 years. 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.