Norway´s Belships, a shipowner and operator of geared bulk carriers, has sealed a deal for the acquisition of a new 64,000 Ultramax bulk carrier under construction in Japan.
As the CEO of Belships Lars Christian Skarsgård said the vessel is financed on a similar structure as the previously announced acquisition of three vessels in February. The deal is also subject to certain conditions to be fulfilled by the parties involved. The Ultramax bulk carrier is expected for delivery within the fourth quarter of 2025 to first quarter of 2026.
With these transactions, the shipowner has now a total of four newbuildings under construction in Japan during 2024 to 2026.
Belships shipowner with a history since 1918 has been listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange since 1937. The company is a fully integrated shipowner and operator of geared bulk carriers with a modern fleet of supramax and ultramax vessels.
As the shipowner notes “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.”
The Oslo-listed shipowner said “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, as the shipowner highlights 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 of Belships will consist of 35 Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers, with an average of about 4 years.
