The Greek Ioannis A. Alafouzos-led company Okeanis Eco Tankers has carried out a series of vessel refinancings to optimise its capital structure.
The New York and Oslo-listed company, with a fleet of six suezmax tankers and eight VLCC tankers, has secured a new $34.7m loan to execute the purchase option of the suezmax vessel Milos.
The shipowner wants to finance the option to purchase back the vessel Milos from its current sale and lease back financier, the Milos Facility, which is provided by a syndicate led by Kexim Asia Limited.
The six-year deal that comes with a balloon instalment of $17.3m at maturity is expected to close in February.
Meanwhile, the owner added the VLCC vessel Nissos Anafi to the portfolio of sale and leaseback transactions with CMB Financial Leasing, and executed amendments to the existing sale and leaseback agreements on the VLCC vessels Nissos Kea and Nissos Nikouria.
The new sale and leaseback will bring in about $73.5m, which will, among other things, be used to refinance the existing indebtedness of the vessel. The lease, which is expected to close in February, matures in seven years and includes purchase options after the first year.
The company said the existing leases amendments on the two VLCC vessels, which are expected to become effective within the first quarter of 2024, provide for a reduction in the pricing of the variable amount of charter hire, extend maturities and eliminate the previously stipulated early prepayment fees in the case of exercise of the purchase options.
Iraklis Sbarounis, Okeanis CFO, commented: “We look forward to utilizing the momentum from our most recent transactions to seek favorable terms for financing the purchase-back of our other legacy leased Suezmax vessel Poliegos in June 2024, the second in a series of four transactions which we expect may further improve our position.”
