SFL splashes $222.5 mln on scrubber-fitted tanker quartet

Vessels

August 17, 2022, by Jasmina Ovcina Mandra

Bermuda-based SFL Corporation has agreed to acquire four scrubber-fitted Suezmax tankers in combination with long-term time charters to a subsidiary of Koch Industries industrial conglomerate.

The vessels are built in 2015 and 2020, respectively, and all four have modern eco-design features.

The aggregate purchase price of the vessels is $222.5 million and the company expects to take delivery between August and October.

The charter period of the vessels will be six years, adding approximately $250 million to SFL’s fixed-rate backlog. The charterer will have a possibility to terminate the charters after three years against a termination fee and also an option to develop a sale of one or more of the vessels from year four of the charter period, including a profit share arrangement with SFL.

“We are pleased to further expand our presence in the tanker market at what we believe is an attractive point in the cycle with historic low orderbook in the segment. The transaction demonstrates our standing in the market as a high quality provider of transportation services for industry leading customers, and we continue building our fleet and charter backlog with accretive acquisitions,” Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management AS, said in a comment.

The company reported a strong net profit for the second quarter of this year worth $57.4 million.

“We are pleased to report another strong quarter as we continue to renew, grow and diversify our portfolio. So far in 2022 we have added approximately $1.3 billion to our fixed-rate backlog, with several new bluechip customers, such as Trafigura, Hapag-Lloyd, ConocoPhillips and most recently Koch Industries, with the addition of four modern, eco-design vessels,” Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management AS, said.

“We aim to continue investing in new accretive assets and build our charter backlog supporting our long-term dividend distribution capacity.”