FSL Trust Finalizes Sale of Aframax Tanker

FSL Trust Management, a trustee manager of Singapore-based business trust First Ship Lease Trust, has completed the sale of FSL Shanghai, an Aframax crude oil tanker.

The 115,000 dwt vessel was delivered to its new owner, Greece-based Performance Shipping, on March 30, 2020.

Upon delivery, the 2007-built FSL Shanghai has been renamed P Kikuma.

 “The company is pleased to have taken delivery of the M/T P. Kikuma, its fourth Aframax tanker vessel, which marks an additional step in becoming a pure tanker owning company. While we remain cautious given the unprecedented global circumstances, we are currently benefiting from the development of a robust tanker market supported by increased oil production and the oil price contango resulting in floating storage for trading purposes and the replenishment of refineries and strategic reserves,” Andreas Michalopoulos, Performance Shipping’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, commented.

Upon completion of the disposal, FSL Trust realized a gain of USD 2.6 million, whilst the net sale proceeds were USD 25.32 million. An amount of USD 5.6 million of the net sale proceeds was used towards partial prepayment of the trust’s outstanding debt and the remainder of USD 19.8 million is intended for general corporate purposes, the company explained.

FSL Trust owns a fleet of seventeen oceangoing vessels comprising containerships and a variety of tankers. Of these, ten vessels are leased to international shipping companies on long-term bareboat charters, five vessels are employed on short-term time charters or in pools and two are under construction.

Performance Shipping’s fleet now consists of one Panamax container vessel and four Aframax tankers.