KNOT Offshore Partners Finalizes Acquisition of Lena Knutsen

KNOT Offshore Partners LP has completed its acquisition of the ownership interests in the company that owns and operates the shuttle tanker Lena Knutsen – KNOT Shuttle Tankers 26. 

The 156,559 dwt Lena Knutsen was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries in Korea and delivered in June 2017. The 284.3-meter-long vessel is operating in the Brazil under a five-year time charter with a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, which will expire in the third quarter of 2022.

The company has been acquired for an aggregate purchase price of USD 142 million less USD 133.8 million of outstanding indebtedness plus approximately USD 24.1 million for a receivable owed by Knutsen NYK to KNOT 26 and USD 1 million for certain capitalized fees related to the financing of the Lena Knutsen.

On the closing of the acquisition, KNOT 26 repaid approximately USD 41.9 million of the indebtedness, leaving USD 91.9 million of debt outstanding under the secured credit facility related to the vessel.

KNOT Offshore Partners LP owns, operates and acquires shuttle tankers under long-term charters in the deep-water offshore oil production regions of the North Sea and Brazil. Including the Lena Knutsen, the partnership now has a fleet of fourteen vessels with an average age of 4.5 years and a fixed average employment of 4.4 years.