Belships has entered into an agreement for the sale of BELVEDERE, an Ultramax bulk carrier built in 2015. Delivery is expected to occur within Q3 2023 and the sales price is slightly above the book value. Net cash proceeds will be about USD 10.0m after repayment of outstanding loan.
BELISLAND has commenced an index-linked charter for a period of about one year with a rate equal to 115 per cent of the Baltic Supramax Index. Belships has the option to convert any part of the firm period to a fixed rate based on the prevailing FFA curve from time to time.
"Belships acquired BELVEDERE one year ago and the investment has yielded a return on equity of about 20 per cent, displaying our ability to source accretive transactions with efficient use of capital. The current freight market is relatively low, and we have therefore chartered out one of our vessels on a variable rate structure as we expect improved market conditions during the contract period. We are comfortably positioned with significant fixed-rate contract coverage for the fleet in the meantime," said Lars Christian Skarsgård, CEO of Belships ASA.
Belships' fixed-rate contract coverage for the next four quarters stands at 78 per cent at a gross rate of USD 18 300 per day per vessel.
Including four newbuildings to be delivered between 2024-2026, the fleet consists of 34x modern Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers with cash breakeven for 2023 of about USD 10 900 per day per vessel.
For further information, please contact Lars Christian Skarsgård, CEO, Belships ASA, phone +47 977 68 061 or e-mail LCS@belships.no
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
