Norwegian bulker owner Belships has expanded its newbuilding orderbook with two more ultramaxes in Japan, lifting its fleet to 40 ships.
The vessels are financed on a similar structure as the previous newbuilds – through time charter lease agreements, each for a period of seven to 10 years, with purchase options during the charter.
The Lars Christian Skarsgård-led company counted 38 ships before this deal, including eight under construction at Japanese shipyards with delivery between 2024 and 2027.
The latest 64,000 dwt pair should be delivered in 2028, the Oslo-listed company said in a filing on Monday, adding that it will be taking over new vessels “whilst the orderbook and supply side in the dry bulk market approaches the lowest levels in decades”.
“These newbuildings represent growth prospects for the company packaged with financing which solves the predicament of very long lead times for new ships without jeopardising return on capital in the meantime. The acquisitions will also contribute to retaining a low and competitive cash break-even in the future as the fixed-cost structure for the newbuildings will blend with existing vessels with lower leverage or free of debt,” explained Belships chief executive Skarsgård.
