Ocean Yield Nets Financing for LEG Trio

Oslo-listed ship owning company Ocean Yield ASA has received a commitment letter from a group of banks for a USD 202.5 million credit facility for the financing of the three liquefied ethylene gas carriers.

The three LEG carriers of 36,000 cbm capacity, being built at Sinopacific Offshore & Engineering, China, are scheduled for delivery in August, October and December 2016 respectively, and will after delivery be chartered on 15-year “hell and high water” bareboat charters to the Hartmann Group, Germany.

During the first ten years they will have a fixed charter rate and the last five years a floating charter rate, the company said. Hartmann has sub-chartered the vessels for a 10 year period on time charter basis with additional five one-year options to SABIC Petrochemicals BV, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian petrochemical company SABIC.

The credit facility is aimed to finance USD 67.5 million out of the contract price of USD 81 million per vessel, with a tenor of 10- years from delivery, and will be repaid on an annuity basis down to a balloon of USD 22.5 million per vessel at maturity, the company added.

“We are pleased to announce the long term financing of our gas carriers, which completes the financing of our newbuilding program. Our newbuilding program is now fully financed, both with respect to equity and debt,” Ocean Yield’s CEO , Lars Solbakken said in a comment.

The credit facility is arranged by ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, Societé Generale and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Europe Limited, all as bookrunners and mandated lead arrangers.

Ocean Yield said that the credit facility is subject to agreement on final documentation.

Year to date the company has taken delivery of three vessels and during the next twelve months it is scheduled to take delivery of another ten vessels, bringing the fleet to a total of 27 vessels.