NAT Gets Finance for 3 Vessels
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Friday, December 1, 2017
Nordic American Tankers (NAT) has entered into final agreements with a subsidiary of Ocean Yield ASA for the financing of the outstanding commitments of $39 million per ship, due on delivery. Three NAT newbuildings are under construction at Samsung shipyard in South Korea.
30% of the contract price for each vessel ($55.7 m) was paid cash by NAT to the yard when the vessels were ordered in October 2016. The three Suezmax newbuildings are expected to be delivered during the latter part of 2018. The financed amount by Ocean Yield is about $43 million per vessel.
The agreements are based on a 10-year bareboat charter for each vessel. NAT will buy back the vessel at the end of the charter, but also has the flexibility to buy-back the vessels from Ocean Yield after year five and seven. Ocean Yield ASA, a company within the Aker sphere, is listed on Oslo Stock Exchange (OSE).
The Chairman & CEO, Herbjørn Hansson, commented: "It is exciting to do business with Ocean Yield , which is 66% owned by Aker ASA. We are pleased to have secured solid long term financing for the three newbuildings with such good companies."