Klaveness Combination Carriers Seeks Fund for CLEANBU Vessels

Norwegian shipping company Klaveness Combination Carriers AS holds several attractive growth options and is now launching a contemplated private placement of shares with total gross proceeds of approximately USD 45-70 million.

The owner and operator of modern combination carriers said that current investors, management and previous CABU investors will subscribe for USD 25 million.

Klaveness Combination Carriers AS (KCC), with its nine CABU vessels in operation and five CLEANBU vessels on order, is the leading owner and operator of modern combination carriers. Combination carriers are vessels able to transport both dry and wet bulk cargoes in the same cargo holds.

Through this, the vessels achieve 45% more revenue days, 40-60% lower fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, and 1.5 – 2 times higher earnings compared to standard bulkers and tankers.

KCC’s vessels, with close to zero ballast, is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the IMO 2020 Sulphur cap on marine fuel. The new regulation is expected to increase bunker costs significantly and due to the unique trading patterns, the earnings of the vessels are increasing with increasing fuel cost.

The CABU vessels have for more than fifteen years served the Aluminium industry and is today the largest transporter of liquid Caustic Soda to Australia and Brazil. On the back of the successful CABU concept, KCC has developed a new generation of Combination Carriers, CLEANBU, targeted to serve the CPP market with the same reliability, efficiency and cost effectiveness as the CABUs.

“KCC has several attractive growth opportunities and we are happy to invite new investors to join the growth and development of this company. With its superior customer value and investor return, we believe this is a unique opportunity to capitalize on a solid business platform perfectly positioned for increasing fuel costs and increasing environmental awareness”, says Lasse Kristoffersen, CEO of Torvald Klaveness and Chairman of KCC.

Klaveness Combination Carriers holds several, attractively priced options for CLEANBU vessels at Jiangsu New Yangzi Shipbuilding Co., Ltd (YZJ) in China. KCC intends to use the proceeds from the contemplated private placement to declare one or more options for the construction of further CLEANBUs.

“The additions of the CLEANBUs to the fleet will further strengthen KCC’s competitive position in the Caustic soda market and facilitate the expansion into the CPP market. Our unique service offering will give potential CPP customers substantial freight savings, high quality operation and a far more environmentally friendly transportation solutions than standard tankers”, says Engebret Dahm, Managing Director of KCC.