Norway’s Belships continues its fleet expansion programme with the acquisition of 2016-built supramax pair for $56m. The Japanese-built 58,000 dwt bulkers will deliver in November this year and take Belships’ fleet to 29 ships.
The Oslo-listed firm is paying $28m for each vessel and intends to utilise bank financing for up to 60% of the purchase price. The estimated cash breakeven for each vessel upon delivery is about $9,000 per day.
“The vessel acquisitions add to the company’s increasingly compelling earnings prospects and display Belships’ ability to source accretive transactions with short lead time and efficient use of capital,” said Belships CEO, Lars Christian Skarsgård.
In addition, the company recently took delivery of 64,000 dwt ultramax Belmar from Imabari Shipbuilding, which entered into a time charter contract for about 5-7 months at $41,000 per day.
In June this year, Belships added two ultramax bulk carriers and sold two older vessels to Jinhui Shipping and Transportation in July and August. On a fully delivered basis, the company will have a fleet with an average age of 4 years and average cash breakeven of about $10,500.
