Himalaya’s two dual fuel newbuilds bunkered with LNG

Bulker operator Himalaya Shipping said two of its ships, Mount Norefjell and Mount Matterhorn, have bunkered with LNG in Singapore over the last few days.

Mount Matterhorn is the fifth of the twelve 210,000 dwt Newcastlemax dual fuel newbuildings that the company has on order at New Times Shipbuilding in China.

A Newcastlemax running on LNG reduces its CO2 emissions by 43% compared to a standard Capesize ship, in addition to significantly reducing SOx and NOx, says Himalaya Shipping. It reports that, on July 31, 2023, LNG prices (adjusted for calorific values) were $472/tonne compared to $537/tonne for HFO and $610/tonne for VLSFO.

When Mount Matterhorn was delivered, on July 14, slightly ahead of schedule, Himalaya Shipping said that it would commence a 32-to-38-month time charter plus an option for 11 to 13 months and will earn an index-linked rate, reflecting a significant premium to a standard Capesize vessel.

The time charter also includes a profit sharing of any economic benefit derived from operating the vessel´s scrubber or running on LNG, as well as certain rights to convert the time charter to fixed rate based on the prevailing forward freight agreement (FFA) curve from time to time.