RWE Supply & Trading, a subsidiary of German energy company RWE, has entered[ds_preview] into an agreement with John Fredriksen’s company Knightsbridge Shipping (KSL) for the chartering of 15 capesize vessels on long term contracts. The duration of each charter contract is approximately five years.
As KSL stated, the basis of the transaction is to employ the vessels on index linked contracts. The earning of each vessel is decided through a pre-agreed premium on top of the prevailing spot market (Baltic Cape Index 4 T/C), reflecting the better performance of the new generation capesize vessels.
The vessels will be delivered over the coming five quarters starting first quarter 2015. The transaction was done on a »to be nominated« (»tbn«) basis where the company would deliver vessels on a fairly evenly spread basis through until the first quarter of 2016, KSL reported.
Since nearly half of Knightsbridge’s capesize bulk carrier fleet of 27 ships is still under construction and scheduled to be delivered mostly in 2015, one can assume that the RWE charters will be serviced by new ships.
The company further announced it had an option to convert the floating rate into a fixed rate at any time and for any duration at a price to be agreed reflecting the market at the time.
At the same time RWE sold its offshore installation vessel »Victoria Mathias« to MPI Offshore, where it will operate as »MPI Enterprise« under the flag of the Netherlands.
According to MPI both partners have agreed to disclose any information about the purchase price.
The special purpose vessel with a lenght of 100m and 11,730 gt was built by Daewoo in South Korea. Currently the vessel is used in the construction of the offshore windfarm »Nordsee Ost«, a project of RWE Innogy.
The cooperation between RWE and German shipping company NSB will continue, as MPI informed. The sister vessel of the »Victoria Mathias«, the »Friedrich Ernestine«, will remain under the ownership of RWE Innogy.
