Belships ASA: New acquisition and divestment of vessel
Belships has entered into an agreement for the acquisition of a modern 64 000 dwt Ultramax bulk carrier built at a Japanese shipyard in 2020. The vessel is financed through a time charter lease agreement for a fixed period of about 5 years with options to extend for a further 3 years. Belships will pay a total of USD 6.0m prior to delivery of the vessel. Cash breakeven for the vessel upon delivery will be about USD 11 600 per day. The agreement comes with an option to purchase the vessel at the end of the charter significantly below current market levels. There is no obligation to purchase the vessel. The vessel comes with time charter contract employment for about 10-12 months at a gross rate of USD 30 000 per day. The agreement is conditional upon certain steps to be completed by the parties involved. Delivery of the vessel is expected within Q2 2022.
Belships has entered into an agreement for the sale of BELPAREIL. The 63 000 dwt bulk carrier was built in 2015, and is the oldest ship in Belships’ fleet. Delivery is expected to occur within July 2022 and Belships will realise a gain of approximately USD 10.0m in Q3 2022. Total net cash flow after delivery of the vessel will be approximately USD 28.1m. The agreement is conditional upon certain steps to be completed by the parties involved.
Belships ASA is a fully integrated owner and operator of geared bulk carriers. The owned fleet consists of 29 Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers with an average age of about 3.5 years and daily cash breakeven for 2022 of about USD 10 000 per vessel. Lighthouse Navigation, a subsidiary of Belships, is a dry bulk operator with offices in Oslo, Bangkok, Singapore and Melbourne. Based on current market expectations, we expect to generate significant free cash flow and aim to pay quarterly dividends as announced with our dividend policy.
For further information, please contact Lars Christian Skarsgård, Belships CEO, phone +47 977 68 061 or e-mail [email protected]
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act
