Himalaya Shipping secured charter deals for two LNG-powered Newcastlemax bulk carriers it has on order at China’s New Times Shipyard.
Tor Olav Trøim’s Himalaya said in a statement on Monday that the charterer is a “major commodity trading company.”
Himalaya did not reveal further information regarding the charterer or the name of the vessels.
The vessels will start a 24-month time charter with an evergreen structure
upon delivery from NTS in the first half of 2024, it said.
Himalaya said the vessels will earn an index linked rate, reflecting a significant premium to the Baltic 5TC index, and a profit sharing of any economic benefit derived from operating the vessel´s scrubber or running on LNG, as well as certain rights to convert the time charters to fixed rates based on the prevailing FFA curve from time to time.
11 ships chartered
China’s NTS is building in total twelve LNG dual-fuel Newcastlemax bulk carriers for Himalaya.
With these deals, the company has now secured charters for 11 ships.
Himalaya has fixed one of its vessels on fixed time charter and the 10 vessels fixed on index-linked charter will on average earn a premium of 42 percent to the Baltic 5TC.
“We are pleased that our vessels are achieving market high premiums,” Herman Billung, contracted CEO of Himalaya, said in the statement.
“Our simple structure, with index-linked charters earning a significant premium, low G&A cost and financing with seven-year fixed bareboat rates puts us in a good position to deliver solid returns to our shareholders,” he said.
Earlier this year, Himalaya took delivery of the first vessel, Mount Norefjell, followed by the delivery of the second vessel, Mount Ita, the third vessel, Mount Etna, the fourth vessel, Mount Blanc, and the fifth vessel, Mount Matterhorn.
The latest and the sixth LNG-powered bulker, Mount Neblina, joined Himalaya’s fleet in August.
Himalaya is taking a small break with next delivery scheduled for January 2024.
NTS also recently launched LNG dual-fuel bulk carriers Mount Bandeira and Mount Hua and Himalaya expects to take delivery of both of these vessels in January.
According to its website, Himalaya expects to take delivery of Mount Elbrus in February next year, followed by the delivery of Mount Denali in June.
In addition, Himalaya expects Mount Aconcagua and Mount Emai to join the company’s fleet in July next year.