Denmark’s Norden has seized the opportunity to bolster its owned fleet by five ships and signed to lease a fresh pair of bulker newbuildings as two older capesize units are being lined up for the new owner.
The Jan Rindbo-led owner and operator has exercised purchase options on one handysize bulk carrier and four MR tankers at prices said to be below the current market level. Ownership switch of the unnamed vessels is expected in the first half of the next year.
Norden will also be taking on one cape and one handy newbuild in 2028. The company said the bulkers would be built in Japan and leased with purchase options attached, without disclosing further transaction details.
“By leasing newbuildings, we position ourselves advantageously against the backdrop of an ageing global fleet and the lowest orderbook in decades,” said Henrik Lykkegaard Madsen, Norden’s head of asset management, adding that with limited shipyard availability expected in the years to come, newbuilding prices and forward charter rates in the dry sector are projected to stay robust.
Norden has confirmed earlier Splash reports of two capesize disposals. The 2012-built Nord Energy and Nord Power have been sold for delivery in the first quarter of 2025.
“This is a strategic sale of existing, older dry cargo vessels to realise NAV and maximise returns at a time when secondhand capesize asset prices are at elevated levels,” the company said.
According to brokers, the vessels have been sold to UK-based Hayfin Capital Management for $32m each.
Following these transactions, Norden will have 17 owned vessels and 79 on long-term charters with purchase options, more than half of which can be declared by the end of the next year.
