Norwegian oner and operator of container vessels MPC Container Ships (MPCC) has exercised options to equip additional five vessels with exhaust gas cleaning systems.
The scrubber investments are expected to be financed with cash on hand and available debt capacity on the MPCC's existing fleet.
The Oslo-headquartered company said in a press release that it has also agreed charters for six scrubber-retrofitted boxships.
"The charterparties will be initiated after scrubber retrofitting and with a duration into 2022. The agreements are concluded at favourable rates and are expected to yield attractive returns for MPCC," said the release.
The fledgling containership owner and operator seeks to take advantage of the optionality of its scrubber programme by meticulously analysing further retrofits on a vessel by vessel basis. In this context, MPCC is already in dialogue with various liner companies on further scrubber-linked employment concepts.
CEO Constantin Baack said: "We are excited to have concluded charters for six scrubber-retrofitted vessels in our fleet. The transaction adds charter coverage at attractive rates and provides significant upside potential post 1 January 2020."
"Equally important, the transaction demonstrates an increasing interest from liner companies for scrubber-linked charters and MPC Container Ships is well-positioned to become a preferred partner for charterers through the platform and the flexibility it has to offer to its customers," Constantin added.
MPCC's main activity is to own and operate a portfolio of container ships with a focus on the feeder segment between 1,000 and 3,000 TEU.
