Navigator Gas has secured up to $121.8m of post-delivery financing for two ammonia-fuelled gas carriers being built in China through its Norwegian joint venture with Amon Maritime, according to a Navigator Holdings filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Norwegian project companies Navigator Amundsen AS and Navigator Archer AS signed the senior secured loan on 31 July with ING Bank, Société Générale and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation. Each lender committed $40.6m, with $60.9m allocated to each vessel.
The facility will cover up to 70% of the ships’ combined $174m contract price at delivery.
The 51,350-cbm Navigator Amundsen and Navigator Archer are under construction at Nantong CIMC Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering. They will carry liquefied ammonia and LPG and use ammonia as fuel.
Norwegian-flagged Navigator Amundsen, IMO 1139119, is due on 18 May 2028, while Navigator Archer, IMO 1139121, is scheduled for 18 September 2028. Both will be registered in Sandefjord, Norway.
The debt will run for six years after delivery at SOFR plus 1.35 percentage points, payable quarterly. It is secured by ship mortgages and guaranteed by Navigator Holdings, Navigator Amon Shipping and Navigator Gas. Pre-delivery instalments and the part of the delivery price not covered by the loan will be funded from borrower cash provided by Navigator Amon Shipping’s shareholders.
Each project has received a NOK 90m ($9.44m) investment grant from Enova. The vessels are intended for five-year time charters with Yara, with Switzerland-based Yara Clean Ammonia Switzerland named as initial charterer.
Navigator Holdings operates 54 semi- or fully refrigerated gas carriers, including 24 able to carry ethylene and ethane, and owns 50% of an ethylene export terminal at Morgan’s Point on the Houston Ship Channel. It held 61% of Navigator Amon Shipping at the end of 2025, with Amon Gas Holdings owning 39%, and expects its interest to reach 79.5% by delivery, leaving Amon Gas Holdings with 20.5%.
Navigator Amon Shipping is the vessel-owning joint venture, while Navigator Amundsen AS and Navigator Archer AS are its project companies.