Herbjørn Hansson-led Nordic American Tankers Ltd (NAT) has agreed to buy a modern suezmax while offloading one of its oldest ships.
The New York-listed shipowner has declared the purchase option for a 2018-built suezmax tanker “on favorable terms from a close financing partner.”
The company says that it has carried out, in the recent past, several transactions reflecting a “very active period.”
Meanwhile, NAT also sold one of its 2003-built ships to a UK-based owner. The company didn’t disclose the name of the ship, or the name of the buyer.
However, it revealed that this sale which is expected to close in the second half of February, will produce a cash injection of $22.5m.
In the company’s fleet portfolio, there are only two suezmaxes built in 2003, the 159,999-dwt Marshall Island-flagged MT Nordic Apollo and the 150,103-dwt Cayman Islands-flagged MT Nordic Pollux.
“NAT is in a very solid position and the transactions above reflect our financial flexibility. Going forward, we see expansion on the horizon,” reads the company’s statement.
Shipping Telegraph reported in December that the suezmax specialist “eyes expansion with a couple of ships.”
The company in its latest report said that the direction of NAT is “upwards and there is room for profitable growth.”
“We plan to increase our fleet with a couple of ships, which should positively impact dividend payments,” its 2024-third quarter report said.
