Norway’s Gram Car Carriers (GCC) has struck again in red-hot markets to tie up a panamax at eye-watering rates.
The Oslo-listed owner said a European operator has taken the 6,700-ceu Viking Bravery (built 2015) for five years, adding $118m to its charter backlog.
The average day rate is a whopping $64,900 per day and the contract starts in July 2023.
The charter is tapered, starting at $73,000 per day for the first 12 months and falling in increments to $53,000 in the final year.
The charterer has an option to extend the charter for a further three years at $48,000 per day.
GCC chief executive Georg Whist said this is the third out of four panamaxes now fixed on long deals, providing an increased backlog and long-term revenue visibility.
“Open capacity for 2023 is limited, and we have secured a significant share of our 2024 revenue days at attractive day rates,” he said.
“This provides a strong foundation for earnings growth and attractive dividends in line with our strategy going forward.”
GCC now has 10% and 32% revenue days open for 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Fearnley Securities analysts Oystein Vaagen and Ulrik Mannhart said the contract could generate $104m in Ebitda, or cash earnings of $86m.
Rate assumptions beaten
The investment bank had been factoring in a deal for the panamax at $60,000 per day.
“The new award continues to show the tightness in the market,” the analysts said.
Fearnleys is now forecasting Ebitda of $170m for GCC in 2023, and $196m in 2024.
This compares to consensus of $156m and $183m, respectively.
The latest deal is a fraction below the rate agreed in October for GCC’s 6,700-ceu panamax vessel Viking Destiny (built 2017), which was fixed for five years at $65,000 per day.
The month before, GCC secured $60,000 per day over five years for the 6,700-ceu Viking Adventure.
This in itself was up from $45,000 in May.
