Greece’s tanker shipowner Top Ships Inc. has announced the completion of sale and leaseback financing agreements with a major Chinese financier for the refinancing of four of its vessels, including two very large crude carriers (VLCCs), a suezmax and MR product tanker.
The agreements involve the two 300,000-dwt VLCC tankers, the Julius Caesar and Legio X Equestris, its 157,000-dwt suezmax tanker, the Eco Oceano, and its 50,000-dwt MR product tanker, the Eco Marina Del Ray.
In a securities and exchange commission filing, the New York-listed Top Ships said the gross proceeds before fees and related expenses but after repayment of previous debt amounted to about $27.2m.
Evangelos J. Pistiolis, the president, CEO and director of Top Ships, said: “The amount of cash released from the concluded deals approximates our current market capitalization. Taking into account the new debt levels of our fleet following the refinancings, the leverage of the fleet remains at a very conservative level of about 52%.”
The company will bareboat charter back the vessels for a period of ten years (except for Eco Marina Del Ray which is for seven years) at bareboat hire rates comprising of consecutive monthly installments of $0.25m per VLCC vessel, $0.18m for Marina Del Ray and $0.18m for Eco Oceano CA along with a purchase obligation of $38.5m per VLCC vessel, $13.0m for Marina Del Ray and $20.0m for Eco Oceano CA at the expiry of their respective bareboat charters.
The financing agreements bear an interest rate of 3-month term SOFR plus a margin of 1.95% per annum.
Under the terms of the agreements, Top Ships will have the option to buy back the vessels following the end of the first year at purchase prices stipulated in the bareboat charter agreement depending on when the option is exercised.
