John Fredriksen’s SFL Corporation has struck a deal to acquire four suezmax tankers for $222.5m. The vessels should deliver between August and October and come with long-term time charters attached to a subsidiary of Koch Industries.
The vessels were built in 2015 and 2020, respectively, and all four are said to have modern eco-design features, including exhaust gas cleaning systems.
The charter period of the vessels will be six years, adding approximately $250m to SFL’s fixed-rate backlog. The charterer will be able to terminate the charters after three years for a fee, as well as develop a sale of one or more of the vessels beginning in year four of the charter period, including a profit share arrangement with SFL.
Ole Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management AS, said in a comment: “We are pleased to further expand our presence in the tanker market at what we believe is an attractive point in the cycle with historic low orderbook in the segment. The transaction demonstrates our standing in the market as a high-quality provider of transportation services for industry-leading customers, and we continue building our fleet and charter backlog with accretive acquisitions.”
Established in 2003, SFL has over the last 10 years developed from a pure tanker player to a diversified shipowning company, with investments in containerships, dry bulk vessels, and offshore segments. The company logged a second-quarter 2022 net profit of $57.4m.
