New timecharters for Capital Product Partners product tankers
London: Capital Product Partners (CPP) has acquired the first of five vessels from Capital Maritime, and secured new timecharter employment for three of its product tankers.
Active (50,000 dwt, built 2015) is the first vessel CPP has acquired so far from its sponsor, Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. The purchase price was $33.5m.
The other acquisitions will include three 9,160-teu eco-flex containership newbuildings, and one eco-type MR product tanker.
The boxships are currently under construction at South Korea’s Daewoo Mangalia Heavy Industries yard. Deliveries are expected in June, August and November this year, after which the ships will be employed on five-year timecharters to French container line CMA CGM.
Samsung Heavy Industries (Nigbo) is building the new product tanker for delivery in June. Capital Maritime has timechartered the vessel for two years.
“The partnership has a right of first refusal over six newbuild eco MR product tankers built by Samsung Heavy Industries (Nigbo),” CPP added.
Active was purchased with a $16.8m drawdown from CPP’s senior secured credit facility with ING Bank, and with some of the cash raised in the equity offering completed in September 2014. The Maranakis-led company says it plans to finance the other four vessels in the same way.
In September 2014, the company paid $30.2m to Capital Maritime as an advance payment for the five vessels.
Active has been timechartered to Capital Maritime for a minimum term of 24 months (+/- 30 days). The gross daily charter rate is $17,000 plus a 50/50 profit share on earnings, which CPP says will be settled every six months.
Subtec SA de CV, part of Petróleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), has extended its timecharter of CPP’s crude/product tanker Militiadis M II (162,397 dwt, built 2006) by a period of 11 months (+/- 30 days). The subsidiary of Mexico’s national oil & gas company will pay a gross rate of $33,000/day from April, an increase on the $28,000/day paid during the initial timecharter term.
The IMO II/III chemical tanker Avax (47,834 dwt, built 2007) has been timechartered to Petróleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) for three years (+/- 30 days) at a gross rate of $15,400 per day, starting in April. Avax is currently earning $14,750 gross per day under its time charter employment with Capital Maritime.
“As a result of the new charters, the partnership’s charter coverage for 2015 and 2016 stands at 89% and 67%, respectively,” CPP said today.
