Belships has entered into a sale and leaseback agreement with a Japanese counterpart for the ship M / S Belforest.
Belforest, 61,000 dwt Ultramax bulk carrier is currently under construction at Imabari Shipbuilding in Japan and will be delivered around 25 September 2015.
The ship will at time of delivery be sold and leased back for a period of 12 years with purchase options from year 3 onwards.
The transaction is considered as a financial lease and will not have any material impact on the financial figures.
Compared to alternative loan financing offer published in the report for 2nd quarter, the transaction will improve Belships cash balance with about USD 4 million at time of delivery.
Imabari Shipbuilding Co., founded 1901, is Japan’s biggest shipyard with more than 2,000 ships delivered. The annual production is around 90 ships from 8 yard locations, which equals 23% of Japan’s annual shipbuilding production (grt).