Himalaya Shipping charters LNG-fueled bulker to ‘major’ Japanese shipowner

Bermuda-based bulk carrier company Himalaya Shipping has entered into a time charter agreement with an undisclosed ‘major’ Japanese counterpart for one vessel under construction at New Times Shipbuilding in China.

Under the agreement, the vessel will commence a two-year time charter upon delivery from New Times’ shipyard in March/April 2023.

As disclosed, the parties have agreed a fixed time charter of $30,000 per day, gross, throughout the period.

Herman Billung, contracted CEO of Himalaya Shipping, said that the latest charter is a proof of the company’s low-emission fleet meeting all expected regulations in the foreseeable future.

Billung added that Himalaya Shipping has already chartered out six vessels on index-linked charters.

The company currently has twelve LNG dual-fuel Newcastlemax dry bulk carriers at the Chinese shipyard slated for delivery between Q2 2023 and Q4 2024.

Two 210,000 dwt vessels from this series, named Mount Norefjell and Mount Ita, were launched last month in China.

The ships will be operating on MAN ME-GI high-pressure LNG dual-fuel engines and will also be fitted with scrubbers allowing them to run on high-sulfur fuel oil as well as LNG and low-sulfur fuel oil.

The shipowner expects that the scrubber installation would increase the flexibility of the vessels and that the investment would be paid back in less than 1.5 years.

The vessels will be fitted with ABB’s shaft generators with a power-take-off (PTO) solution, comprising new drive systems and permanent magnet technology.

They will also have an ECO hull design, innovative machinery concept, and nitrogen abatement system.