Latvian Shipping Company Fixes USD 121 Mn Loan

Latvian Shipping Company has completed its loan refinancing procedure, securing a loan of USD 121 million from a syndicate of three banks and simultaneously repaying the previous loan, the tanker owner said on Tuesday.

The new loan has been issued with a repayment deadline of June 30th, 2022.

“We are delighted to have completed the refinancing of 14 vessels in our fleet of 16 handy and medium sized tankers. This new loan facility enables the company to plan ahead whilst managing our cash flow in a challenging market,” said Robert Kirkup, LSC Chairman of the Board.

As previously reported, the tanker shipping company reached an agreement at the end of 2016 year with a syndicate of three banks – HSH Nordbank (as an agent), DVB Bank SE, and Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (Stockholm) – on the main terms and conditions of the contract on refinancing the USD 360 million loan facility with the maturity in June 2017.

The initial sum of the loan was USD 360 million. The outstanding balance at the moment of refinancing was USD 121 million.

LSC suffered a net loss of USD 25.18 million in 2016, sinking further from a USD 7.22 million net loss reported in 2015. The loss was attributed to ”the steady erosion in the value of the LSC’s fleet throughout the last year.”

The value of the company’s fleet declined by 24.13 million in 2016.