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Charter Contracts News

19 Feb 2024

MPCC Announces Newbuild and Retrofit Plans

(Image: Unifeeder)

MPC Container Ships (MPCC) on Monday announced plans to retrofit several of its ships and build one new vessel as part of its ongoing fleet renewal and decarbonization strategy.The Norwegian shipowner said it has entered into joint retrofit agreements with various charter customers, under which both the charterer and MPCC will share the costs of retrofit investments followed by an extension of the vessels time-charter contracts. MPCC also said it has partnered with Denmark-based Unifeeder in a joint investment for the construction of a 1,250 TEU dual-fuel methanol newbuilding.

09 Jan 2024

Energos Acquires Two FSRUs from Dynagas

(Credit: Energos Infrastructure)

Offshore LNG infrastructure company Energos Infrastructure has completed the acquisition of two floating storage and regasification units (FSRUs) from the affiliates of Greek Dynagas.The two 174,000 m3 closed-loop FSRUs, built in 2021, will be renamed Energos Force and Energos Power, said Energos Infrastructure, a joint venture majority-controlled by Apollo and minority shareholder New Fortress Energy.Earlier in 2023, the FSRUs commenced long-term charter contracts with the German


21 Dec 2023

Shipping Industry in the Dark Over US-led Red Sea Navy Force

(Photo: Samantha Alaman / U.S. Navy)

Shipping companies remain in the dark over a new international navy coalition being assembled by the United States to combat attacks in the Red Sea, with many vessels continuing to avoid the area or cancelling contracts, sources said on Wednesday.The sources, who include shipping and maritime security officials, say few practical details are known about the initiative launched on Tuesday by Washington or whether it will directly engage in the event of further armed attacks at sea.Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have since Nov.

13 Dec 2023

CSOV IWS Skywalker Delivered

(Image: IWS)

Integrated Wind Solutions (IWS) announced its IWS Fleet subsidiary has taken delivery of the new commissioning service operations vessel (CSOV) IWS Skywalker from shipbuilder China Merchants Industry Holdings Co., Ltd. (CMI).After transit to Europe, the vessel will commence the first out of three charter contracts at the world's largest offshore wind farm—Dogger Bank, in the U.S.—in the first quarter of 2024.The purpose-built IWS Skywalker is the first of a series of six identical sister vessels, with the remaining five vessels scheduled for delivery in 2024 and 2025.

07 Dec 2023

Market Watch: Container Freight Rates Fall, Costs Soar

"So far this year, container volumes have fallen nearly 2% year-on-year while average freight rates have declined, reaching 2019 levels in September. Since then, they have continued to fall. However, the cost to charter a ship remains 25% higher than in 2019,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.Liner operators continue to struggle with a worsening supply/demand balance, affecting freight rates. On average, the fleet has year-to-date grown 5% and 19% compared with 2022 and 2019 respectively.

27 Nov 2023

The $1 Billion Offshore Wind Prize for US Shipyards

© A / Adobe Stock

The U.S. offshore wind market presents a $1 billion long-term opportunity to builders of crew transfer vessels (CTV) and service operation vessels (SOV) that will support both wind farm construction and long-term operations and maintenance. Unlike many of the construction vessels to be deployed on U.S. wind projects, CTVs and SOVs must be Jones Act compliant, meaning they will be built, owned and operated by U.S. companies and personnel.However, although seen as somewhat commoditized vessels


06 Oct 2023

SAL Heavy Lift Charters Chinese Semi-sub Duo

Credit: SAL Heavy Lift

SAL Heavy Lift said Friday it had chartered two modern semi-submersible deck carriers, the “Zhong Ren 121” and “Zhong Ren 122” on a long-term basis together with its partner Shanghai Salvage (China). "Both ships will be delivered in Shanghai between December 2023 and February 2024 and marketed through the Jumbo-SAL Alliance," Sal Heavy Lift said.“We don’t use the term ‘milestone’ lightly – but, in this case, it’s more than appropriate. This project is extremely important to us as a group, both commercially and strategically,” says Dr Martin Harren, CEO of SAL Heavy Lift and the Harren Group.

13 Apr 2023

Record High Container Order Book Signals 'Significant Change'

“Despite the collapse in freight rates, shipowners still have an appetite for new container ship orders and the order book has continued to grow. The record high order book of 7.54 million TEU will result in significant changes to the container fleet in the coming years,” says Niels Rasmussen, Chief Shipping Analyst at BIMCO.During the last 10 quarters, 8.61 million TEU has been contracted, matching the level contracted during the preceding 30 quarters. The order book has now increased for 10straight quarters


14 Mar 2023

Viking Supply Ships to Charter Two Ocean Yield AHTS Vessels. Purchase Options Included

©Solstad Offshore

Anchor handling specialist Viking Supply Ships will take two Ocean Yield-owned AHTS vessels, Far Senator and Normand Statesman, on bareboat charters for a period of five years. The vessels have since October 2020 been on a charter with Normand Chartering, a subsidiary of the Norwegian offshore vessel firm Solstad Offshore ASA. Solstad said it would redeliver the vessels to Ocean Yield at the end of their current commitments. Viking Supply Ships said in a separate statement that it would


24 Feb 2023

Gram Car Carriers Inks $61M Charters for Distribution Vessel Duo

Oslo-listed car carrier operator Gram Car Carriers has secured three-year time charter contracts for the distribution vessels "City of Oslo" and "Viking Odessa with a "leading European operator." Each vessel has the capacity to carry up to 2,000 cars.The dayrate is USD 27,750 per day for each vessel, and the contract adds approximately $61 million of future revenue to the contract backlog. The new contracts will start during the second quarter of 2023.Georg A. Whist, the CEO of GCC, commented: "We continue to sign long-term contracts reflecting favorable car shipping market fundamentals and are now pleased to see the strong demand and


13 Feb 2023

Golden Ocean Acquires Six Bulk Carriers

Dry bulk shipowner Golden Ocean Group on Monday announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire six 208,000 deadweight tons (dwt) Newcastlemax vessels for a total consideration of $291 million. The newly-acquired vessels—each equipped with exhaust gas cleaning systems, or scrubbers—will be chartered back to their former owner, an unrelated third party, for approximately 36 months at an average daily time charter equivalent rate of approximately $21,000 net.Following the acquisition, Golden Ocean will be the world's largest publicly-listed dry bulk company in terms of dwt."This acquisition cements our position as the largest owner of modern Capesize vessels.

17 Jan 2023

Diana Shipping Announces New Time Charters

Dry bulk shipowner Diana Shipping on Tuesday announced new charter contracts for two of its vessels, the Polymnia and Los Angeles.Diana said it has extended the time charter contract with CLdN Cobelfret SA for the Polymnia, a  98,704 dwt Post-Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2012.The gross charter rate is $10,000 per day for the first 30 days of the charter period and $15,000 per day for the balance period of the time charter, in each case minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period until minimum April 1, 2024 up to maximum May 31, 2024. The new charter period commenced on January 14, 2023.The company also announced that it has entered into a time charter contract with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha for the Los Angeles


18 Nov 2022

Diana Shipping Announces Two Time Charter Deals

Shipowner Diana Shipping on Friday announced it has entered into a pair of time charter contracts for two of its owned bulk carrier vesselsWestern Bulk Carriers AS will charter the DSI Aquila $13,300 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period until minimum September 15, 2023 up to maximum November 15, 2023. The charter is expected to commence on November 22, 2022. The 60,309 dwt Ultramax dry bulk vessel was built in 2015.In addition, EGPN Bulk Carrier Co., Limited, will charter the Houston for $13,000 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period until minimum July 1, 2024 up to maximum August 31, 2024. The charter is expected to commence on November 21, 2022.

07 Nov 2022

Diana Shipping Secures Three Time Charters

Dry bulk shipowner Diana Shipping Inc. on Monday announced it has entered into separate time charter contracts for three of its vessels.The company said it will charter its vessel Amphitrite to Cobelfret S.A. for $14,250 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period until minimum December 1, 2023 up to maximum February 15, 2024. The charter is expected to commence on November 10, 2022. The Amphitrite is a 98,697 dwt Post-Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2012.Diana will also charter its vessel Crystalia to Reachy Shipping (SGP) Pte. Ltd. for $12,500 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period until minimum September 1, 2023 up to maximum October 15, 2023. The charter is expected to commence on November 8, 2022.

03 Nov 2022

MISC, Partners Secure Five Newbuild LNG Carriers

VLEC Seri Elbert. Photo courtesy MISC Berhad

MISC Berhad (MISC), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Portovenere and Lerici (Labuan) Pte Ltd (PLL), together with its consortium partners, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. (K-Line) and China LNG Shipping (Holdings) Limited (CLNG), have been awarded long-term time charter contracts by QatarEnergy for five additional newbuild Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carriers to be built by Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group) Co., Ltd.Together with the seven long-term time-charter contracts that were secured earlier in August


01 Nov 2022

'Carbon Free' Platfom Supply Vessel Firm Launched in Norway

Credit: Amon Maritime

Norway-based company Amon Maritime has launched Amon Offshore - a new company focused on the offshore oil and gas market – with plans to operate carbon-free platform supply vessels. The ship has already received approval in principle from DNV and preliminary flag approval from the Norwegian Maritime Authority, Amon Maritime said. Amon Offshore has been created to build, own and operate a fleet of ammonia-powered supply ships for the Norwegian Continental Shelf. "The ships have been developed to meet oil companies’ current and future offshore logistics needs


20 Sep 2022

Marco Polo Marine to Build, Operate CSOV as Offshore Wind Industry 'Grapples with Shortage'

Singapore-listed firm Marco Polo Marine said Tuesday it planned to build, own and operate a new Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV) to meet the rising demand for support vessels required to service the booming offshore wind farm industry in Asia. When completed in the first quarter of 2024, the vessel will also be the first CSOV to be designed in Asia."The group will be funding the construction of the vessel with its existing resources and borrowings from financial institutions.

18 Apr 2022

Castor Maritime Announces New Charter Agreements

Shipping company Castor Maritime on Monday announced it has lined up time charter contracts for three of its bulk carriers. The Magic Moon, a 2005 built Panamax dry bulk carrier, has been fixed on a time charter contract at a gross daily charter rate of $25,500. The charter commenced on April 7, 2022, and has a duration of about 25 days.The Magic Rainbow, a 2007 built Panamax dry bulk carrier, has been fixed on a time charter contract at a gross daily charter rate of $16,500. The charter commenced on April 12, 2022, and has a duration of about 60 days.The Magic Horizon, a 2010 built Panamax dry bulk carrier, has been fixed on a time charter contract at a gross daily charter rate of $17,500. The charter commenced on April 15, 2022, and has a duration of about 55 days.

04 Apr 2022

Kongsberg Maritime to Equip Two More IWS' Offshore Wind Vessels

Credit: Kongsberg Maritime

Kongsberg Maritime will supply integrated equipment packages for two more Integrated Wind Services' offshore wind commissioning service operation vessels, slated for delivery in H1 2024.IWS already has the two identical vessels on order for delivery in 2023, and option agreements for up to two additional vessels, making this a potential six-vessel series.Kongsberg in June 2021 won contracts to design and equip the first two construction service operation vessels (CSOV) for the


22 Mar 2022

Integrated Wind Solutions Orders Another Skywalker-class CSOV in China

 ©IWS

Norway-based offshore vessel owner Integrated Wind Solutions (“IWS”) has ordered two Walk-to-Work Commissioning Service Operations Vessels (“CSOV”). The vessels are scheduled for delivery in H1 2024 from China Merchants Industry, Hong Kong. Currently, IWS has two identical vessels on order for delivery in 2023 and option agreements for up to two additional vessels for potentially H2 2024 delivery.The firm yard price for the two vessels is about EUR 48 million per vessel (around $52,76 million).

14 Mar 2022

SFL Charters Six Containerships to Hapag-Lloyd

Shipowner SFL Corporation Ltd. announced Monday that it has agreed to charter out six 14,000 TEU containerships to German container shipping line Hapag-Lloyd AG for a fixed period of five years, following the expiry of the vessels’ existing charters to another container line in 2023-2024.The vessels will have charter coverage until 2028-2029 at firm rates, reflecting the current strong container market, SFL  said.The new time charter contracts will add approximately $540 million to SFL’s fixed rate charter backlog, increasing the backlog to $3.8 billion, the company added. Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management AS, said, "We are excited to build a long term relationship with Hapag-Lloyd, who is the world’s fifth largest container line.

11 Feb 2022

MOL Nets Charter in Russia for New Ice-breaking Condensate Carrier

Illustration only - ©Mikhail Perfilov/AdobeStock

Japanese shipping giant Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has signed a charter contract for a newbuilding ice-breaking tanker that will transport condensate from the Arctic LNG 2 Project on Russia’s Gydan Peninsula.The contract was signed by a MOL subsidiary with the project company, whose largest shareholder is Russia-based PAO NOVATEK. The vessel,  slated for delivery in 2024, will be constructed in China by Guangzhou Shipyard International Company, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation Limited (CSSC).

28 Dec 2021

Havila Lines Up PSV Charters

Norwegian offshore vessel owner Havila Shipping this week announced it has been awarded two separate platform supply vessel (PSV) charter contracts.On Monday, the company said it entered into a contract with Harbour Energy for the 2010-built, 85-meter Havila Commander. Estimated to commence in January 2022, the contract is for a firm period of four wells, with one well option.On Tuesday, Havila Shipping said it entered into contract with Amilcar Petroleum Operations for the 2009-built, 78.6-meter Havila Borg. The contract is for a firm period estimated to four months included mobilization and demobilization, with optional periods for up to two months. Commencement will be between January 15 and February 15, 2022.

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