Second LNG dual-fuel bulker joins Himalaya’s fleet

Bermuda-based bulk carrier company Himalaya Shipping has taken delivery of the second LNG dual-fuel 210,000 dwt newcastlemax newbuild from New Times Shipbuilding (NTS) in China.

The vessel named Mount Ita is the second in a series of twelve newcastlemax dry bulk vessels under construction at the yard.

Mount Ita is joining Himalaya’s fleet shortly after the delivery of its sister vessel Mount Norefjell. Both vessels were launched in November 2022.

The new vessel will now commence a 32-38 month time charter plus an option for 11-13 months. While the name of the charter was not revealed, Himalaya said that the time charters also include 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 forward freight agreement (FFA) curve from time to time.

“We are excited to take delivery of the second vessel, which is chartered on an index-linked time charter, earning a significant premium to a standard Capesize vessel. We are thankful to the shipyard which has delivered a high-quality vessel on time, despite the difficult lock-down situation in China”, said Herman Billung, contracted CEO of Himalaya Shipping.

As informed earlier, the ships in this series will 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.

According to Himalaya Shipping, the design of the vessels will also allow for future conversion to next-generation fuels.

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.

The equipment is anticipated to improve the energy efficiency of the vessels by up to 4% while saving about 20% of space onboard compared to a conventional solution, according to ABB.

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

The twelve LNG dual-fuel Newcastlemaxes are slated for delivery between Q2 2023 and Q4 2024.

On 17 February, the construction of the new vessel began at NTS, followed by the launch of the fourth vessel, Mount Blanc, on 1 March. Mount Blanc will be delivered on charter in June and managed by Wilhelmsen Ship Management.