Belships

M&A Activity • Feb 27, 2023

Belships ASA: Acquisition of three new Ultramax bulk carriers

Belships ASA: Acquisition of three new Ultramax bulk carriers

Belships has entered into agreements for the acquisition of three new 64 000

Ultramax bulk carriers which are being constructed at Japanese shipyards.

Delivery of each vessel is expected in Q4 2024,  Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. The

vessels are fully financed through time charter lease agreements, each for a

period of 7 up to 10 years, with purchase options at current market levels

during the charter. There is no obligation to purchase the vessels. Belships is

not required to make any down payment for this transaction. Cash breakeven for

the vessels upon delivery will be about USD 14 000 per day. The agreements are

conditional upon certain steps to be completed by the parties involved.

Belships will be taking over new vessels whilst the orderbook and supply side

approaches the lowest levels seen in 30 years. New Japanese-design Ultramax bulk

carriers represent the highest quality and lowest fuel consumption available in

the market today.

"We are able to increase our fleet without investing any cash, this will

therefore not affect our dividend capacity in the near future. We also believe

the best way for us to approach the green shift is to acquire the most efficient

vessels available and pair it with a financing structure which gives us a bridge

to the future with optionality and flexibility" said Belships CEO, Lars

Christian Skarsgård.

Belships ASA is a fully integrated owner and operator of geared bulk carriers.

Including announced transactions, the owned fleet will consist of 34

Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers with an average of about 4 years. Lighthouse

Navigation, a subsidiary of Belships, is a dry bulk operator with offices in

Oslo, Bangkok, Singapore and Melbourne. Based on current market expectations, we

expect to generate significant free cash flow and aim to pay quarterly dividends

as announced with our dividend policy.

For further information, please contact Lars Christian Skarsgård, Belships CEO,

phone +47 977 68 061 or e-mail LCS@belships.no (mailto:LCS@belships.no)

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section

5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act