Greek tanker owner Performance Shipping led-by chairperson of its board Aliki Paliou has announced that through its subsidiary has sealed a sale and leaseback deal with an unaffiliated third party for a newbuild LR2 aframax tanker.
As the owner reported last year, this vessel is one of two newbuilding LNG-ready, scrubber-fitted LR2 product/crude oil tanker vessels of approximately 114,000-dwt expected to be delivered to the company in the first quarter of 2026.
The Nasdaq-listed company said in its release on Thursday that the bareboat financing amount totals approximately $45.39m.
As part of the deal, the ship will be sold and then chartered back to the company on a bareboat basis for a ten-year period starting from delivery from the shipyard.
The bareboat charter includes 120 monthly installments at a fixed rate of $211,500.00 plus a variable rate calculated monthly at an implied interest rate of SOFR plus 2.1% per annum.
Additionally, a balloon payment of approximately $20m will be due together with the last installment for the repurchase of the vessel.
The company has continuous options to repurchase the vessel at predetermined rates following the second anniversary of the bareboat charter.
As announced on March 12, the vessel has been chartered to Clearlake Shipping Pte Ltd. for a period of five years, upon delivery of the vessel, at a rate of $31,000 per day and an option to extend for a 6th and 7th year at a base rate plus profit sharing if declared at that time by the charterer.
Andreas Michalopoulos, Performance Shipping chief executive officer, said: “This sale and leaseback agreement showcases our ability to secure attractive funding for our newbuilding program, by expanding our partnerships with reputable leasing companies in Asia.
“We consider our financing strategy to be conservative, with the bareboat financing amount of US$45.39 million representing 70% of the vessel’s shipbuilding contract price of US$64.85 million, and an even lower leverage percentage considering the vessel’s highly appreciated current market value.
“The financing terms are competitive, resulting in an estimated daily cashflow breakeven of approximately US$24,390 per day.
“This is comfortably covered by the secured daily charter rate of US$31,000 for the initial 5-year operating period of the vessel.
“We believe that our strong relationships with international shipping lenders and our strategic partnerships with top-tier charterers enable us to execute our business strategy, focusing on growth through selective acquisitions, lucrative fleet employment and our commitment to prudent financial policies.”
