MPCC placed orders for two carbon-neutral 1,300 TEU newbuildings
MPC Container Ships ASA ("MPCC" or the "Company", the "Group") announced the following company update:
- MPCC has contracted two carbon-neutral 1,300 TEU newbuildings at Chinese-based shipyard Taizhou Sanfu Ship Engineering for delivery in the second half of 2024.
- The vessels come with a dual fuel engine setup which enables operation on methanol as well as conventional MGO, allowing MPCC to take a significant leap forward in its commitment to use carbon-neutral solutions in regional container trades together with strong partners.
- The vessels come with 15-year time charters to North Sea Container Line AS (NCL), backed by CoAs from various parties, including a 15-year CoA with Norwegian industrial group Elkem ASA.
- The contract price of USD 39m per vessel is covered by the contracted cash flows from the 15-year time charter with NCL at an initial rate of EUR ~16,300/day, before inflationary adjustment mechanisms.
- The transaction will provide earnings visibility into 2040 supporting MPCC’s distribution policy, with no negative impact on expected distributions in 2022/2023.
- The project has been awarded NOK 13.7 million by Enova, Electrification of Maritime Transport program, owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, and NOK 60 million from the NOx fund, the Norwegian business sector’s fund to reduce emissions.
- The vessel owning entities will be majority owned by MPCC (90.1%) together with Topeka MPC Maritime AS (9.9%), a joint venture between Topeka Holding AS (zero emission shipping company owned by Wilhelmsen Group) and MPC Capital AG.
MPC Container Ships ASA (ticker code "MPCC") is a leading container tonnage provider with a focus on small to mid-size containerships. Its main activity is to own and operate a portfolio of container ships serving intra-regional trade lanes on fixed-rate charters. The Company is registered and has its business office in Oslo, Norway.
