Himalaya Shipping inks charter deals for two LNG dual-fuel newbuilds

Bermuda-based bulk carrier company Himalaya Shipping has signed time charter agreements for two of its LNG dual-fuel vessels currently under construction at New Times Shipyard in China.

According to the company, the vessels will commence a two-year time charter with “an evergreen structure” upon delivery from the shipyard in the first half of 2024.

The vessels will earn an index-linked rate, reflecting a significant premium to the Baltic 5TC index, and a profit sharing of any economic benefit derived from operating the vessel’s scrubber or running on LNG, as well as certain rights to convert the time charters to fixed rates based on the prevailing FFA curve from time to time.

“We are pleased that our vessels are achieving market high premiums. Our simple structure, with index linked charters earning a significant premium, low G&A cost and financing with 7-year fixed bareboat rates puts us in a good position to deliver solid returns to our shareholders,” said Herman Billung, contracted CEO of Himalaya Shipping.

Himalaya Shipping has a total of twelve LNG dual-fuel 210,000 dwt Newcastlemax ships on order at Chinese NTS. The first two vessels, Mount Norefjell and Mount Ita, were delivered in March this year. Mount Etna, Mount Blanc and Mount Matterhorn followed suit in April, May and July, respectively.

The most recent delivery took place in September when Himalaya welcomed the sixth vessel, Mount Neblina. The next delivery is scheduled for January 2024.

In the meantime, the construction of the vessels is progressing at the Chinese shipyard where the seventh and eighth vessels in the series were launched on September 15, 2023.

The newbuilds will be fitted with scrubbers allowing them to run on high-sulfur fuel oil as well as LNG and low-sulfur fuel oil with the design that will also allow for future conversion to next-generation fuels.

They will also feature ABB’s shaft generators with a power-take-off (PTO) solution, comprising new drive systems and permanent magnet technology.

The ships will run on MAN ME-GI high-pressure LNG dual-fuel engine, which in combination with in-line shaft generator the concept offers low methane slip.