Safe Bulkers Amends Debt Terms with DVB Bank

Dry bulk ship owner and operator Safe Bulkers has reached an agreement with Germany’s DVB Bank to amend certain covenants and terms to its existing credit facility with an outstanding balance of USD 101.2 million.

Following the amendment, the total consolidated liability of the company divided by its total consolidated assets charter inclusive “must not exceed 90 percent until and including year-end 2017 and 85 percent from 2018 onwards,” according to Safe Bulkers.

In addition, the ratio of the company’s EBITDA to its interest expense should not be less that 2.0:1 on a trailing 12-month basis, applicable from 2018.

Furthermore, the consolidated net worth of the company is waived until and including year-end 2017 subject to a minimum fleet size of 30 vessels and not less than USD 150 million from 2018.

“The agreement with DVB is the third in a row which provides for alignment of financial covenants and deferral of about USD 10.5 million of debt originally payable until 2018, prorate to years after 2019. With this agreement, the amended facilities represent about 51 percent of our debt, excluding sale and lease back financing arrangements and debt from state institutions,” Loukas Barmparis, President of the company, said.

Under the agreement, the aggregate market value of the vessels under the facility divided by the outstanding loan value should exceed 110 percent until the end of 2017 and 120 percent from 2018 onwards, the company said.