Ship Finance International, a shipping company, has agreed to sell the 1999-built offshore supply vessel “Sea Bear” to an unrelated third party.
The company has simultaneously agreed to terminate the corresponding charter party with a subsidiary of Deep Sea Supply which was supposed to last until 1Q 2020.
The vessel is expected to be delivered to the new owner in the first quarter of 2016. Ship Finance says it will receive total proceeds of approximately $20 million, as a combination of cash sales proceeds and amortizing notes from Deep Sea as compensation for the cancellation of the charter.
The notes will be senior unsecured with an interest rate of 7.25% and have a tenor of six years. The company expects to record an impairment of approximately $8 million in the fourth quarter 2015 relating to the sale.
According to Ship Finance, divesting of older vessels is a part of the company’s strategy to renew and diversify the fleet. Following this sale, the number of offshore supply vessels will be reduced to five, all on long-term charters to a subsidiary of Deep Sea Supply BTG AS.