Himalaya Shipping is in talks to charter the LNG-powered Newcastlemax ships it has ordered at China’s New Times Shipbuilding in Jiangsu.
The firm, registered on Euronext NOTC, is a new venture of Norwegian businessman and investor, Tor Olav Trøim, who is also the chairman of Golar LNG.
It has newbuilding contracts for twelve 208,000-dwt dual-fuel LNG bulk carriers at New Times worth up to $800 million.
The Chinese yard will deliver these vessels between the second quarter of 2023 and the fourth quarter of 2024.
“Serious charterers”
“Himalaya has been approached by operators and end-users inquiring about chartering the vessels,” the firm said in a statement.
Himalaya said it aims to enter into index-related charters for a significant part of its fleet.
Hence, the company would benefit from a potential tightening market, with added premium, due to the Himalaya vessels size, fuel efficiency and potential LNG saving, it said.
The company said it expects, based on feedback from “serious charterers”, that they would be willing to pay a premium on the Himalaya vessels due to the vessel’s environmental aspects.
Listing
Himalaya also said in the statement it has filed an application with the Oslo Stock Exchange for listing at the Euronext Growth.
It expects to start trading under the ticker HSHIP on or about December 22.
In addition, the company also targets an up-listing to Euronext Expand during the first half of 2022, it said.