Seacon strikes sale and leaseback deal for tanker newbuilds
China’s Seacon Shipping has raised fresh capital via the sale and leaseback of four chemical tanker newbuilds.
The Hong Kong-listed diversified owner and operator has sealed a deal with entities controlled by Shanghai-listed AVIC Industry-Finance Holdings to sell the 18,500 dwt quartet under construction at Fujian Southeast for about $27.5m each.
The ships, booked for $32.3m apiece will go on 120-month bareboat contracts with Seacon subsidiaries once delivered between July 2025 and May 2026.
Seacon will buy back the vessels when the charters expire, but it will also have a repurchase option two years into their contracts.
The Qingdao-based company has been expanding its footprint in the tanker segment with several newbuild orders spread across Chinese shipyards. Fujian Southeast has won orders for six 18,500 dwt units in total, Wuhu Shipyard will also build one, while in February Chengxi scooped up an order for four MR product tankers.
