The company said the 2023-built newcastlemax Mount Matterhorn has been
fixed on a charter lasting between 12 and 14 months. The 210,000 dwt vessel is
expected to begin the new contract in the second half of March following
redelivery from its current charter.
The Tor Olav Troim-backed owner noted the deal is
linked to the Baltic Exchange Capesize 5TC Index and will earn a significant
premium to the benchmark.
The contract also includes an option allowing the
charter to be converted to a fixed rate based on prevailing forward freight
agreement curves.
The newcastlemax specialist currently controls a fleet of 12 LNG
dual-fuel ships delivered between 2023 and 2024 and technically managed by OSM
Thome and Wilhelmsen Ship Management.
Operational earnings have remained strong so far this year. In February,
the company reported average time charter equivalent earnings of about $32,400
per day, including scrubber benefits of roughly $1,200 per day.
Ships trading on fixed-rate charters earned around $29,400 per day,
while those on index-linked deals achieved about $34,500 per day on average.