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Grindrod seals financing for ultramax pair, sells handy bulker and product tanker

Nasdaq-listed Grindrod Shipping has sealed financing for two newbuild ultramaxes and also announced the sale of two of its vessels.

The new term loan facility is with IYO Bank for $31.4m, which will be used to finance a pair of ultramax bulkers set for delivery in the third quarter of this year. The vessels, IVS Okudogo and IVS Prestwick, are under construction at Japan’s Shinkurushima Toyohashi Shipbuilding.

Grindrod has also revealed that it has sold 2005-built handysize bulker IVS Kawana for $7.8m and 2011-built small product tanker Umgeni for $8.875m in two separate deals.

Martyn Wade, CEO of Grindrod Shipping, commented: “We are pleased to have agreed an indicative term sheet to expand our relationship with IYO Bank, a leading Japanese financial institution, on competitive financing terms that demonstrate our continued access to attractive sources of capital. Our long-standing relationships with and access to Japanese shipyards, financial markets and trading houses is one of our key competitive strengths. In addition, the sales of the IVS Kawana, one of the oldest vessels in our fleet, and the Umgeni, one of our small product tankers built in China, continues our strategy of maintaining a modern, high quality fleet as we await delivery of our contracted newbuildings.”

Grindrod Shipping currently has 32 vessels in its fleet according to VesselsValue, made up of 24 bulkers and eight tankers.

Grant Rowles

Grant spent nine years at Informa Group based in London, Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore. He gained strong management experience in publishing, conferences and awards schemes in the shipping and legal areas, working on a number of titles including Lloyd's List. In 2009 Grant joined Seatrade responsible for the commercial development of Seatrade’s Asia products. In 2012, with Sam Chambers, he co-founded Asia Shipping Media.
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