New York-listed Ardmore Shipping Corporation agreed to acquire three modern Korean-built MR tankers in two separate transactions.
The tanker owner said the aggregate purchase price of the South Korean-built MR tankers is $103.9m; one 2020-built scrubber-installed vessel for $38.3m and two 2017-built vessels for $32.8m each.
The deliveries of these vessels are expected to be completed during the quarter ending September 30, 2025.
The shipowner said the vessel will be financed by cash on hand and revolving credit facilities, maintaining a modest leverage level while lowering average fleet age.
Meanwhile, the company closed a $350m revolving credit facility with “top-tier banks” and secured by 20 of Ardmore’s owned vessels. The facility has a margin of 1.8% and matures in 2031.
Furthermore, the MR product and chemical tanker shipowner and operator committed one of its 25,000-ton chemical tankers to a three-year time-charter-out contract at $19,250 per day to a “top-tier chemical producer.” The news came as Ardmore Shipping released its financial results for the three and six months ended June 30.
The company also executed two tactical MR charters out, as it said, increasing MR fixed rate coverage to four vessels at an average rate of $22,500 per day, with varying durations between six to 12 months.
“We agreed to acquire three modern, high-quality Korean-built MR tankers with near-term delivery, and we refinanced our bank debt at favorable terms with top-tier lenders. In addition, we selectively locked in quality time charter-out contracts for a portion of our existing fleet, thereby securing attractive near-term and multi-year returns,” said Gernot Ruppelt, the company’s chief executive officer.
