New York-listed SFL Corporation Ltd. has confirmed the sale of two 2015-built suezmax tankers SFL Thelon and SFL Ottawa, currently on charter to a trading house.
As informed, the gross sales price is expected to be around $57m per vessel.
Net proceeds are estimated at approximately $26m per vessel, SFL said, after repayment of associated debt and payment of a termination fee in accordance with a pre-agreed profit share arrangement.
The vessels will be delivered in the fourth and first quarter, respectively, and SFL expects to record an aggregate book gain of around $23m from the transaction, allocated between the two vessels.
According to SFL, the company and the same charterer have also agreed to mutually terminate the charters for the two 2020-built suezmax tankers SFL Albany and SFL Fraser and pay a termination fee in accordance with a pre-agreed profit share arrangement.
The two retained vessels are Korea-built vessels equipped with scrubbers. SFL said the vessels will initially be employed in the spot market, and in due course the company may look for longer-term employment for these vessels.
Ole B. Hjertaker, chief executive officer of SFL Management AS, commented: “This transaction illustrates the embedded value in our fleet, where we can materialize a significant profit from the sale of two 10-year-old vessels just three years after their acquisition. And in the meantime, we have enjoyed solid cash flows from the vessels. A portion of the proceeds will be reinvested in the younger, more fuel-efficient vessels that are well positioned to benefit from the current strong charter market, where prevailing charter rates are materially higher than the existing fixed charter rates.”
SFL’s fleet portfolio comprises of tanker vessels, bulkers, container vessels, car carriers and offshore drilling rigs.
