Belships has acquired its 20th bulk carrier in just over two years and signed a time charter contract for another vessel.
In a resale deal, the Oslo-listed shipowner bought a 64,000-dwt ultramax, which is under construction at an unnamed Japanese shipyard and is due for delivery in January 2023.
Belships did not reveal what it will pay for the newbuilding, but said it intends to finance it in the same way it has previous acquisitions — implying a fixed-rate bareboat charter of around 10 years with purchase options.
The vessel's cash breakeven upon delivery is expected to be around $11,500 per day including operational expenses, the company said.
Period contract
Meanwhile, Belships has fixed another of its Japan-built ultramaxes on long-term charter.
The unnamed vessel has been fixed to an undisclosed counterparty for 22 to 24 months at a gross rate of $26,250 per day.
The contract is expected to commence this month.
Andreas Nibe Nygard, equity research analyst for financial services firm Kepler Cheuvreux, said the deal shows "the current strength of the dry cargo market".
"Based on the gross rate, we estimate that the charter could generate an annual Ebitda in the region of $7.5m," he said in a note to clients on Thursday.
"This compares with value quotes from Clarksons suggesting a five-year-old vessel valued at $31.5m and a resale at $37m."
The charter rate implies an enterprise value to Ebitda ratio of around five times for a resale, he said.
The deal also shows the big difference in rates for short-term deals and multi-year contracts, in a spot market in which average supramax day rates are around $38,500.
Earlier this month, Belships took delivery of the 63,500-dwt geared ultramax Belmar from Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan.
It has been chartered out to an unnamed charterer for five to seven months at a gross rate of $41,000 per day.
Secondhand buys
This month, Belships bought two secondhand supramaxes— the 57,700-dwt Japanese-built Stove Tide and Stove Friend (both built 2016) — from Stove Rederi of Norway for $28m per ship.
Meanwhile, Belships continues to sell older tonnage. Chief executive Lars Christian Skarsgard confirmed to TradeWinds that it is circulating its oldest bulker, the 58,000-dwt Belstar (built 2009), for sale.
Once all of its acquisitions have been delivered, Belships said its fleet will be made up of 30 supramax and ultramax bulkers, with an average age of four years and average daily cash breakeven of about $10,500.
