OET Exercises Option to Acquire ECO Suezmax Tanker Pair

Greek shipping company Okeanis Eco Tankers (OET) intends to exercise an option to acquire two ECO scrubber-fitted Suezmax tankers under construction at South Korean Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries.

In April this year, OET was granted the option by entities controlled by OET’s sponsor and chairman, Ioannis Alafouzos, to add the 158,000 dwt tanker pair scheduled for delivery in August 2020 at the sponsor’s cost of USD 64.5 million.

“As Suezmax values have risen and newbuilding delivery timelines extended into 2021 in the period since its granting, the option is presently well in-the-money and accretive to NAV,” OET said.

“In addition, with the recent dramatic firming of the tanker spot and time charter markets and the availability of low cost, high LTV financing …, OET is highly confident that exercise of the option will require no new issuance of equity.”

The company added it has received firm indications for low cost, high LTV pre- and post-delivery financing from multiple financial institutions.

What is more, in connection with the option exercise, OET and the sponsor have agreed to extend the maturity of the USD 15 million revolving credit facility — which remains undrawn at the date hereof — from Glafki Marine Corp. by six months, to December 2020.

Finally, OET and its chairman have agreed that repayment of ten percent of the option vessels’ total contract price settled between the sponsor and the shipyard in April 2019 may be deferred, at OET’s sole discretion, to any date before the end of September 2021 with no interest, cost or penalty accruing on any outstanding amount during the period.

Okeanis Eco Tankers is a pure play eco and scrubber-fitted tanker company that owns and operates a fleet of seventeen crude oil and products tankers in the VLCC, Suezmax and Aframax/LR2 segments.