Himalaya Shipping has signed another charter deal for one of its LNG-powered bulk carriers, securing employment for its entire fleet of 12 Newcastlemax vessels.
Tor Olav Trøim’s Himalaya said in a statement on Thursday it has entered into a time charter
agreement for one vessel with a “major Japanese shipping and logistics company”.
Furthermore, the vessel will start a 24-month time charter with an evergreen structure upon delivery from China’s New Times Shipyard in the first half of 2024, it said.
The vessel 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, according to the firm.
Besides this contract, Himalaya has agreed to extend the charter for six of its vessels with a “major commodity trading company” by an additional year, until the end of 2026.
With this the company has secured employment for its entire fleet, 1 vessel on fixed time charter and the remaining 11 vessels fixed on index linked charters will on average earn a premium of 42.25 percent to the Baltic 5TC, the firm said.
“We are pleased that our vessels are achieving market high premiums and the fact that one of Himalaya’s counterparts is showing further commitment based on the quality of the fleet and the experience gained so far trading the ships,” Herman Billun, contracted CEO of Himalaya, said.
“Our simple structure, with index linked charters earning a significant premium, low G&A cost and financing with 7-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.