Tor Olav Troim-backed Himalaya Shipping is taking more term cover at a rate far exceeding current levels.
The Oslo-listed newcastlemax bulker owner said it achieved average time charter equivalent earnings of $30,000 per day during February.
The six vessels trading on fixed-rate time charters made $28,300, with average daily scrubber and LNG fuel benefits on five of these coming in at $3,100 per day.
The trio of bulkers on index-linked deals managed $33,300 per day, including a scrubber and LNG boost of $2,000 per day.
The Baltic Exchange’s 5TC capesize index averaged $21,557 per day last month, meaning the Himalaya fleet was 39% above this level.
The company said it has agreed to convert the index-linked charter to a fixed rate for the 208,500-dwt Mount Etna (built 2023) from 1 April until the end of the year.
The vessel is fixed to Koch Logistics for two years.
The set rate will be $40,810 per day, plus a scrubber premium. The average cash breakeven is $24,600 per day for the ship.
Himalaya said the Mount Etna should generate $4.4m of free cash flow in the rest of 2024, assuming $2,500 per day of scrubber benefit.
The owner has eight ships trading on index-linked charters currently.
Once all the newbuildings are delivered by June, 11 bulkers will be on index deals.
Himalaya also announced a monthly dividend of $0.03 per share on Wednesday, equivalent to an annualised yield of 5%, Fearnley Securities said.
