John Fredriksen’s Ship Finance International (SFI) has agreed to sell 2007-built jackup rig Soehanah and three 2002-built VLCCs.
The buyer and price of the Soehanah were not revealed. Delivery is scheduled before the end of the year, and SFI will continue to receive $10,000 a day from the rig’s charter to Apexindo in Indonesia.
VLCCs Front Page, Front Status and Front Serenade have been sold to ADS Crude Carriers, a newly established company which SFI holds a 17% interest in. Proceeds from the sale will come to around $77.6m.
Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of Ship Finance Management, commented: “Divesting of older vessels is a part of the company’s strategy to renew and diversify the fleet. Over the last three months, Ship Finance has taken delivery of 19 vessels with long-term charters, increasing our fixed charter backlog by nearly $600m. We see further growth opportunities across our target market segments, and we expect to reinvest the proceeds from these vessel sales in new assets.”
ADS Crude Carriers has raised $58m in equity capital from a wide group of investors and $30m in the form of a non-amortising secured debt facility. It intends to list its shares on the Oslo Mercur Market. The company plans to upgrade the VLCCs with scrubbers prior to 2020.
SFI described its 17% investment in the company as “an opportunistic financial investment” with limited downside.
