Greek dry bulk shipping company Seanergy Maritime Holdings Corp. has entered into commercial agreements for the installation of exhaust gas cleaning systems (EGCS) on fifty percent of its Capesize fleet.
Namely, the company has signed deals to equip five of its Capesize bulk carriers with scrubbers before the January 1, 2020 implementation date of the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) sulfur emission cap regulations.
The vessels in question are the M/V Partnership, M/V Lordship, M/V Premiership, M/V Squireship and M/V Championship.
Upon completion of the installations scheduled for the second and third quarters of 2019, the bulkers will commence index linked period employment with three leading dry-bulk charterers ranging in durations between three and five years, Seanergy Maritime explained.
The company has secured the scrubber equipment from Korean manufacturer Hyundai Materials and has reserved retrofitting slots at a dry-dock facility in China. The total investment, to be covered by the charterers, is expected to exceed USD 12.5 million, including equipment and installation costs.
“This significant investment by our charterers, in combination with innovative charter agreements, is expected to increase the market value of the subject vessels without our Company incurring additional debt or diluting our shareholders,” Stamatis Tsantanis, Seanergy’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, said.
He added that, upon implementation of the new IMO regulations, “all of Seanergy’s fleet will be fully compliant with the new rules.”
Under the charter agreements, Seanergy’s M/V Partnership and M/V Lordship would be chartered out to a European utility company for a firm period of 33 to 37 months plus one additional period of 11 to 13 months at charterer’s option.
M/V Premiership and M/V Squireship received deals to work for a multinational commodity trading and mining company for a firm period of 36 to 42 months plus two additional periods of 11 to 13 months at charterer’s option. While Seanergy signed a sale and leaseback and a five year time charter with a large international commodity trading company for the M/V Championship, for a firm time-charter period of 60 months plus an additional 18 month period at charterer’s option.
As part of the time charter agreements, the charterers will cover 100% of the equipment and installation cost for retrofitting the vessels with scrubbers.
