Belships has entered into agreements for the acquisition of two modern 64 000 dwt Ultramax bulk carriers built at Japanese shipyards in 2019 and 2020. The vessels are financed through time charter lease agreements for a fixed period of about 5 years within options to extend for a further 2 years. Cash breakeven for each vessel will be about USD 11 200 per day. Belships will pay a total of USD 12.0m as downpayment upon delivery of the vessels. The agreements come with options to repurchase the vessels significantly below current market levels. There are no obligations to purchase the vessels at the end of the agreements. The agreements are conditional upon certain steps to be completed by the parties involved. Delivery of the vessels is expected within Q2 2022.

The vessels come with charter employment attached as follows:

About 2.5 years period time charter at a gross rate of USD 21 000 per day. The Charterer has an option for two additional years at USD 21 000 and USD 22 000 per day.

About 6 months remaining period of a legacy time charter contract at a gross rate of USD 13 600 per day.

Furthermore, Belships has entered into agreements to charter out two of our existing vessels:

  • an Ultramax for 21-24 months period charter at a gross rate of USD 22 250 per day. The contract commenced in April 2022.
  • a Supramax for 11-13 months period charter at a gross rate of USD 29 500 per day. The contract is expected to commence by the end of April 2022.

“We believe these agreements are immediately accretive for Belships’ shareholders and displays our ability to source transactions with short lead time and efficient use of capital. The acquisitions and additional contract employment contribute to the company’s earnings prospects whilst maintaining our position with the most modern fleet within our segment,” said Belships CEO, Lars Christian Skarsgård.

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. Additionally, an extraordinary dividend payment is planned to be announced with the Q1 2022 report.

Belships ASA is a fully integrated owner and operator of geared bulk carriers. The owned fleet consists of 29 Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers with an average age of about 3.5 years and daily cash breakeven for 2022 of about USD 10 000 per vessel. Lighthouse Navigation, a subsidiary of Belships, is a dry bulk operator with offices in Oslo, Bangkok, Singapore and Melbourne.