Charter News

Seaward Services, Inc., a provider of maritime solutions and part of the global Hornblower Group, announced that its vessel the M/V Seaward Endeavor is available for extended international operations following its approval by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for expanded authority to operate in international waters. The Seaward Endeavor is an integral component of Seaward’s growing fleet of Multi-Purpose Offshore Supply Vessels. Currently stationed on the US East Coast, the Seaward Endeavor is now positioned to support operations beyond domestic waters…

AS Tallink Grupp has signed a charter agreement with Algeria’s state-owned company Madar Maritime Company for the cruise ship Romantika.Romantika will be chartered along with its technical crew for nine months starting Saturday, May 31. The agreement includes an option to extend the charter for two additional periods of six months each.Romantika has previously operated in the Baltic Sea on routes to Helsinki, Stockholm, and Riga. Built in Finland in 2002, it was the first ferry commissioned by Tallink and the first built specifically for an Estonian shipping company.A few weeks ago…

Hungarian oil and gas group MOL and state-owned energy company MVM will jointly charter tankers to ship up to 160,000 metric tons of crude oil a year from Azerbaijan to further diversify energy supply for Hungary and Slovakia, MOL said on Thursday.The companies will both transport crude oil to the Ceyhan terminal in Turkey via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, from where it will be distributed to MOL Group’s markets, with a particular focus on Hungary and Slovakia, the statement said.Through this cooperation, MOL could increase the volume of alternative crude oil processed in its refiner

d’Amico International Shipping S.A., an international marine transportation company operating in the product tanker market, announced that its operating subsidiary, d’Amico Tankers D.A.C. (Ireland), has recently signed new 12-month time charter agreements for two of its Eco-MR2 vessels and one of itsEco-LR1 ships, all with reputable counterparties and at very profitable daily hire rates.

BIMCO and the Association of Ship Brokers & Agents (USA) Inc. (ASBA) have revised ASBATANKVOY, the only dedicated tanker form not associated with an oil major. The updated version of the voyage charter party addresses changes in the tanker trade, commercial practices and regulations since its last revision.The original edition of ASBATANKVOY has become outdated since it was published by ASBA in 1977. Since then, various aspects of modern tanker trade have changed along with the regulatory framework such as safety…

WiseStella has announced that its technology has played a pivotal role in helping a globally trading tanker operator secure a landmark charter agreement with a prominent oil major.By using the WiseStella’s Behavioral Competency Assessment Tool (BCA) prior to a TMSA audit, the tanker crews were able to demonstrate behavioral competencies beyond standard expectations, resulting in the ship manager being recognized for Best Practice by the oil major.The TMSA review highlighted the undisclosed operator’s robust processes for managing organizational change…

Dry bulk shipping company Diana Shipping Inc. announced that it has entered into a sale and leaseback agreement with an unaffiliated Japanese third party for the newbuild Capesize bulk carrier Florida.Diana, which entered into an agreement to purchase the 181,500 dwt bulker in December 2021, said it expects to take delivery of the Japenese newbuild on March 29.Upon completion, the company’s gross proceeds in connection with the sale and leaseback transaction will be $50.0 million, Diana said. As part of the agreement, the company will bareboat charter-in the vessel for a period of ten years and have purchase options beginning at the end of the third year of the agreement.

Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Oldendorff Carriers GmbH & Co. KG, Lübeck, Germany, for one of its Capesize dry bulk vessels, the m/v Sideris GS.According to a press release from the global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, the gross charter rate is US$12,700 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period until minimum October 15, 2020 up to maximum December 31, 2020. The charter is expected to commence on March 8, 2020.The “Sideris GS” is a 174,186 dwt Capesize dry bulk vessel built in 2006…

International provider of marine drybulk transportation  Safe Bulkers said that two of its vessels - MV Kypros Sky and MV Kypros Spirit - were sold and leased back recently on a bare-boat charter basis for a period of eight years.The Monaco-headquartered company said that with purchase options are in its favor  commencing three years following the commencement of the bare-boat charter period and a purchase obligation at the end of the bare-boat charter period, all at predetermined purchase prices.The company informed that MV Panayiota K and MV Agios Spyridonas were also sold and leased back in January 2020 on a bare-boat charter basis for a period of six years…

The largest international shipping association representing shipowners, BIMCO said that it expects dry bulk fleet growth to slow to 3.1% in 2020, after a 3.9% fleet expansion in 2019.As this level of growth still exceeds demand growth, the market will also deteriorate in 2020, it pointed out.Meanwhile, demolitions are expected to rise to 12 million deadweight tonnage (DWT) in 2020, up 4.2 million DWT from 2019. With expected deliveries of 39.3 million DWT, the dry bulk fleet is set to exceed 900 million DWT for the first time.Demolitions this year are expected to include up to half of the VLOCs that were converted from very large crude carriers between 2007 and 2011.At the start of February…

Belships ASA, a bulk carrier operator and ship management company, has confirmed that it  entered into an agreement with Marti Shipping & Ship Management of Turkey for a bareboat charter and subsequent sale of BELEAST.The 50 000 dwt bulk carrier was built in 2006 and was the oldest ship in Belships fleet. BELEAST was delivered in December as planned and Belships realized a gain of USD 4.4m.The Charterer has an obligation to purchase the vessel within 24 months and the net cash flow during the period will be approximately USD 3.5m after repayment of outstanding loans.In October, Belships agreed a 7-year bareboat charter for a 61 000 dwt Ultramax bulk carrier newbuilding from Shin Kurushima, Japan.

Diana Shipping  announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Koch Shipping Pte. Ltd., Singapore, for one of its Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Coronis.The global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels said that the gross charter rate is US$8,000 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of about nine months to about 10 months.The charter commenced earlier today. The m/v Coronis was previously chartered to Tongli Shipping Pte. Ltd., at a gross charter rate of US$5,300 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties.The Coronis is a 74…

Malaysian national oil company Petronas’ subsidiary Petronas LNG Ltd recently signed a 12-year time charter party (TCP)  with a Japanese shipowner Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd (“K” Line) for two midsized new build LNG vessels.According to the statement, the TCP includes an extension option for an additional 12 years. The LNG vessels had about 79,960 cubic metres each in capacity.Petronas said this was in line with the signing of the shipbuilding agreements between ‘K’ Line and Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding Co Ltd for the construction of the vessels in Shanghai, China.Petronas executive vice president and CEO of gas and new energy, Adnan Zainal Abidin said the procurement and chartering of these vessels were concluded within four months…

Diana Shipping announced that through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with BHP Billiton Freight Singapore Pte. Ltd., for one of its Newcastlemax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Philadelphia.According to the global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, the gross charter rate is US$14,500 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum 14 months to maximum 17 months.The charter commenced on February 5, 2020. The “Philadelphia” is a 206,040 dwt Newcastlemax dry bulk vessel built in 2012.This employment is anticipated to generate approximately…

The provider of marine transportation of dry bulk commodities Scorpio Bulkers has agreed to sell and leaseback two Ultramax vessels (SBI Cronos and SBI Achilles) and one Kamsarmax vessel (SBI Lynx) to Ocean Yield ASA for a total financing consideration of $62.8 million.Upon completion, which is estimated to take place in the first quarter of 2020, the company’s liquidity is expected to increase by up to $33.6 million after the repayment of outstanding debt.The company will also be able to drawdown on an additional tranche of up to $4.5 million in aggregate for installation of exhaust gas cleaning systems (“scrubbers”) on the three vessels.As part of the agreements…

Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Berhad (MISC) announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, AET Tanker Holdings Sdn Bhd, has been awarded long-term charter contracts for three newbuilding Suezmax DP2 Shuttle Tankers from Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.AET, the petroleum shipping unit of MISC and specializes in the global ocean transport of petroleum, will own and operate the newbuilding Suezmax DP2 Shuttle Tankers for operations in Brazilian and international waters.The estimated contract value is USD525.6million and the charter is expected to commence in 2022, said a release.The new long-term…

Bermuda-based SFL Corporation has sold and delivered Front Hakata, a 2002-built very large crude carrier (VLCC).The international ship owning and chartering company said that the net cash proceeds to SFL was approximately $30 million after a compensation to Frontline Ltd. for the early termination of the charter.SFL Corp, formerly Ship Finance International, does not expect a material book effect from the transaction.The Front Hakata was the last vessel in the fleet remaining from the Company’s inception in 2004 and divesting of older vessels is part of SFL’s strategy to continuously renew and diversify its fleet.Following this transaction…

Temasek-owned Pavilion Energy has signed a 10-year fully-termed agreement to jointly develop an LNG bunker supply chain in the port of Singapore with Total Marine Fuels Global Solutions (TMFGS),  a subsidiary of French energy conglomerate Total SA.Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised  on signing the contract.The agreement includes the shared long-term use of 12,000 cu m LNG bunker vessel (LNGBV). In February this year Pavilion chartered an LNGBV newbuilding from Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) which is currently being constructed at Sembcorp Marine’s Tuas Boulevard Yard in Singapore.Working in support of Total Marine Fuels’ in-house legal team…

Japanese shipping company Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) has ordered two liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers with  with Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding backed by long-term contracts with Malaysia's energy giant Petronas.The 12-year contract to charter them to Petronas starts in 2022, with an option for an extension for a further 12 years.The two vessels will be built by Hudong–Zhonghua Shipbuilding , a wholly owned subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, the largest shipbuilding group in China,  for delivery in the second quarter of 2022, K Line said.These two vessels will be equipped with X-DF engine, which is dual-fuel engine which uses gas admitted at low pressure.Since the delivery of S.S.

Diana Shipping announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party, the 2002-built vessel “Norfolk”.The delivery to the buyer is scheduled for latest by February 25, 2020, said a press note from the global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels. The sale price of its first capesize is US$9.35 million before commissions.Upon completion of the aforementioned sale and the previously announced sale of a Panamax dry bulk vessel, the m/v Calipso, Diana Shipping Inc.’s fleet will consist of 40 dry bulk vessels (4 Newcastlemax, 13 Capesize…

Diana Shipping through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Aquavita International S.A., for one of its Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Astarte.According a press release from the global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels,  the gross charter rate is US$11,750 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum 14 months to about 16 months. The charter is expected to commence on January 18, 2020.The “Astarte” is a 81,513 dwt Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel built in 2013, it added.This employment is anticipated to generate approximately…

The Monaco-headquartered provider of marine drybulk transportation services Safe Bulkers Safe Bulkers has sold and leased back eight ships to refinance $105.2m in loans coming due in 2023 and 2025.The New York-listed bulker owner said that it will receive $158.3m in proceeds from the transaction.Under the arrangements, two vessels were leased back, under bareboat charter agreements, for a period of six years and six vessels were leased back under bareboat charter agreements, for a period of eight years.Four of such arrangements contemplate a purchase obligation at the end of the bareboat charter period and purchase options commencing three years following commencement of the bareboat charter period…

Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Phaethon International Company AG, for one of its Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Ismene.According to a press note from the global shipping company specializing in the ownership of dry bulk vessels, the gross charter rate is US$10,800 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum 13 months to about fifteen 15 months.The charter is expected to commence on January 11, 2020, it said.The “Ismene” is a 77,901 dwt Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2013."This employment is anticipated to generate approximately US$4.21 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charter…