Golden Ocean Orders Three Kamsarmax Newbuilds, Sells Two Ultramaxes

Dry bulk shipowner Golden Ocean Group on Friday announced it has entered into agreements for the construction of three bulk carrier newbuilds, as well as for the sale of two owned bulkers.

The newbuilds will be 85,000 dwt ECO-type dual-fuel Kamsarmax vessels constructed at the same Chinese shipyard group as the company's seven previously contracted newbuilds. Deliveries are scheduled to take place from the third quarter of 2024 through the first quarter of 2025.

The aggregate sale price of the Ultramax vessels Golden Cecilie and Golden Cathrine is $63 million, and Golden Ocean said it expects to record a gain of approximately $22 million from sale and receive net cash proceeds of approximately $41 million in late Q3/early Q4 2022. The sales proceeds will fund the expected equity portion payable for the three Kamsarmax newbuilding orders placed, Golden Ocean said.

Ulrik Andersen, CEO of Golden Ocean Management AS, said,, “Golden Ocean is committed to maintaining one of the largest and most modern fleets in the industry. In the process, the company will continue to improve the fuel efficiency of its fleet, ensuring best-in-class performance at a reduced carbon footprint. Importantly, all of our newbuildings are dual-fuel ready, which provides us the flexibility to evaluate propulsion options as the visibility of future emissions-related regulations and technology improves. Golden Ocean will be offsetting a portion of the cost to construct the new vessels with the net proceeds from the sale of the two Ultramax vessels sold at attractive prices, enabling the company to continue to execute its strategy without impacting its dividend capacity.“