Norwegian owner Belships has entered into a letter of intent for the acquisition of a new ultramax bulker.
The ship is expected to be delivered upon completion of construction at a Chinese yard in the last quarter of this year, and will be financed via a seven-year bareboat charter. Belships is paying $2.9m upon signing the contract next month, and the agreement comes with purchase options which can be exercised after the third year until the end of the charter.
The cash breakeven for the vessel is about $10,900 per day including operational expenses.
The deal follows a similar transaction announced by Belships earlier in the month which will see it take on two ultramax resales via 10-year charters.
“Belships is again taking over an existing contract for a brand new vessel soon ready for delivery whilst the orderbook approaches the lowest levels seen in 30 years. This vessel transaction signals the competitive advantage Belships has in sourcing ship finance. Belships’ fleet continues to increase and improve with only modest cash investments,” the company said.
Belships will have a fleet of 24 bulk carriers, with an average age of five years, upon completion of all outstanding transactions.
