Presentation

Belships was established in 1918 by the Norwegian entrepreneur Christen Smith, as the First World War entered its final months. Smith found a niche market to serve in the carry of heavy locomotives and railway cars. All of the company’s vessels had names with the prefix ‘Bel’, which made the ships often referred to as ‘Belships’. The company was formally named Belships in 1935 and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange two years later.

Today’s Belships fleet consists of 27 Supra/Ultramax bulk carriers, with an average age of about 4 years. Approximately half of the fleet is owned, and the rest are charted in, mostly on bareboat charter. All bareboat charters have purchase options attached to them, offering Belships exposure to rising vessel values.

Lighthouse Navigation – the commercial division of Belships – provides chartering and operations services. In addition to serving Belships’ vessels, Lighthouse also manages seven handysize vessels owned by SFL. Belships and Lighthouse merged in late 2018. The transaction resulted in Mr. Frode Teigen becoming the largest shareholder in Belships. Mr. Teigen currently controls 54% of the outstanding shares.

In recent years, the company has undertaken an extensive rejuvenation process, by selling its older fleet and investing in modern, ‘IMO 2023’-ready vessels. Last quarter, another two vessel sales were announced, as the company awaits further modern vessel deliveries during H2’21.