Dual-fuel Newcastlemax Vessel Delivered to Himalaya Shipping

Himalaya Shipping announced it has taken delivery of the sixth in a series of 12 newbuild 210,000 dwt Newcastlemax dual fuel bulk carriers the company has on order from New Times Shipyard.

The vessel, Mount Neblina, will commence a minimum 24-month time charter with an evergreen structure thereafter and will earn an index-linked rate, reflecting a significant premium to a standard Capesize vessel, Himalaya Shipping said. The time charter also includes a profit sharing of any economic benefit derived from operating the vessel's scrubber or running on liquefied natural gas (LNG), as well as certain rights to convert the time charter to fixed rate based on the prevailing forward freight agreement (FFA) curve from time to time, the company added

Herman Billung, CEO of Himalaya Shipping, said the vessel was delivered "slightly ahead of schedule" and that the vessel will be chartered to a "leading commodity trading house".

"Mount Neblina will add another state-of-the-art vessel to the youngest dry bulk fleet on the water today," Billung said.

"It is encouraging that three vessels of the Himalaya fleet have bunkered with LNG in Singapore over the last month, which makes us confident in our choice to invest in dual fuel engines. Less than 2% of the Capesize fleet can run on LNG which brings the company in the pole position to benefit from the environmental regulations being introduced."