Gaslog Refinances Six LNG Carriers

Owner and operator of LNG carriers GasLog Ltd and its partnership GasLog Partners LP have entered into agreements for the refinancing of six vessels, representing all debt maturities for both entities due in 2016 and 2017.

The refinancing was completed in two parts, namely a senior and junior tranche mortgage debt refinancing on five contracted vessels of up to USD 576.5 million and a sale and leaseback in Japan of the Methane Julia Louise with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., where GasLog agreed to sell the vessel and immediately thereafter lease it back on a bareboat charter for a period of 20 years.

Under the sale and lease-back deal, GasLog has the option to re-purchase the vessel on pre-agreed terms no earlier than the end of year 10 and no later than the end of year 17 of the bareboat charter.

The vessel will remain on its 11 year charter with Methane Services Ltd., now a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc following the completion by Shell of the BG Group plc acquisition on February 15, 2016.

The vessels covered by the five vessel refinancing are the GasLog-owned Methane Lydon Volney and Methane Becki Anne and the GasLog Partners-owned Methane Alison Victoria, Methane Shirley Elisabeth and Methane Heather Sally.

The refinancing is comprised of a 5-year senior tranche facility of up to USD 396.5 million and a 2-year bullet junior tranche of up to USD 18 million.

ABN AMRO BANK N.V. and DNB (UK) LTD. were mandated lead arrangers to the transaction. The other banks in the syndicate are: DVB Bank America N.V., Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ING Bank N.V., London Branch, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and National Australia Bank Limited.

“With the successful completion of these two financings, GasLog and GasLog Partners have no debt maturities until 2018. The completion of this five vessel refinancing follows the USD 1.3 billion newbuild financing we completed in October 2015, which provided GasLog with committed financing against all of its eight future newbuild deliveries,” says Simon Crowe, Chief Financial Officer at GasLog and GasLog Partners.