Norwegian Car Carriers (NOCC) has secured period charter employment for all of its seven vessels.

Even its oldest ship, the 6,400-ceu Asian King (built 1998), has been fixed for a year by South ­Korean operator Hyundai Glovis.

As a tonnage provider, NOCC typically aims to secure long-term charters but is avoiding longer-deal tenures in this market.

Chief executive Olav Sollie is confident the market will recover. “The orderbook is now virtually empty,” he added.

Mixed fleet

The company’s two most modern ships, the 6,500-ceu, 2017-built NOCC Baltic (renamed Liberty Peace) and NOCC Arctic (renamed Liberty Passion), have had their bareboat charters extended with Liberty Global Logistics (LGL).

The company’s two most modern ships, the 6,500-ceu, 2017-built NOCC Baltic (renamed Liberty Peace) and NOCC Arctic (renamed Liberty Passion), have had their bareboat charters extended with Liberty Global Logistics (LGL).

Sollie declined to reveal the rate, but each ship is likely to earn slightly more than $20,000 per day on a time charter basis. Spot rates for car carriers in the panamax segment last year were between $15,000 and $18,000 per day.

An NOCC vessel gets ready for boarding Photo: NOCC

Meanwhile, Hyundai Glovis has extended its charter of the 6,750-ceu NOCC Atlantic (built 2009) for another year. NOCC holds a 53.75% stake in this vessel.

Privately owned NOCC has been at the centre of mergers-and-acquisition talk, as Sollie has been an advocate of more consolidation in the car carrier business.

TradeWinds understands discussions are being held for trans­actions involving NOCC, but Sollie declined to comment.

Improved results

NOCC reported a pre-tax profit of $3.2m for 2018, against a $250,000 loss the previous year. Revenue dropped from $44.1m to $41.6m. The company, which is owned 50:50 by Klaveness Marine Holding of Norway and US-based JP Morgan, had book equity of $120m at the end of last year.

It has chosen not to use scrubbers, as only a limited number of car carriers globally are being retro­fitted.

The annual report reveals that Sollie had total remuneration of $381,000 last year.