Norwegian shipping company Belships has declared a purchase option for the bulk carrier Belmar, which has been leased since its delivery as a newbuilding in 2021. The purchase price is US$25.5 million and the vessel will be taken over in the fourth quarter of 2024. The acquisition will be financed from the company’s available cash.
Belships has also agreed to acquire a Japanese-built Ultramax vessel of 64,000 DWT built in 2024 from an unrelated party. The purchase price is US$41 million and the vessel will be delivered in Q1 2025.
The sale of the two Supramax vessels Belfriend and Beltide announced previously will be completed following hand-over to the new owners in Q3 2024. As the vessels are free of debt, the sales proceeds of US$56.6 million will add to Belships’ strong cash position.
Lastly, Belships has expanded its newbuilding program with two new 64,000DWT Ultramax bulk carriers to be delivered in 2027 and 2028, respectively. The vessels are leased on similar terms as previously announced transactions, and Belships is not required to make any down payments for these vessels.
Belships now has a total of 12 newbuildings under construction at Japanese shipyards with delivery between 2024 and 2028. All vessels are 100 per cent financed through lease agreements for seven to 10 years with purchase options. Belships said it is not using any equity, therefore this will not have any impact on cash and dividend capacity during the construction period.
Including the announced transactions, and newbuilding program, the Belships fleet will count 41 vessels consisting entirely of Ultramax bulk carriers. The fleet will have an average year of build of 2021.
