Ship Finance Adding Three Boxships with Long Term Charters

Ship Finance International Limited has reached an agreement to acquire three large container vessels in combination with long term time charters.

The company informed that the vessels in question are modern eco-design built in 2015 with 10,600 TEU carrying capacity. The units are expected to join their new owner in the near term.

Ship Finance International did not reveal the purchase price for the trio.

The charters will run for a period of minimum 6 years, with options for the charterer to extend the charters up to 10 years. There is also a purchase option with profit split at the end of the initial period.

Ship Finance International’s fixed rate charter backlog will increase by USD 260 million, increasing to USD 430 million if the charter extension options are exercised. The EBITDA contribution from the vessels is estimated to USD 35.5 million per year.

“We have received an offer for a USD 200 million intermediary bank financing to part-finance the acquisition of these vessels. The balance will be funded by cash at hand. The company expects to arrange a long term financing in due course,” Ship Finance International said.

“Over the last five months we have added more than USD 800 million to our charter backlog and expect to continue increasing our fleet of vessels and charter backlog in 2018,” Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of Ship Finance Management AS, concluded.