The international ship-owning company Top Ships announced that its 50% subsidiaries which own M/T Holmby Hills and M/T Palm Springs entered into agreements to sell both vessels to unaffiliated third parties.
According to the owner and operator of modern, fuel efficient "ECO" tanker vessels, the vessel sales are subject to customary closing conditions and are anticipated to be concluded during March 2020.
The two MR2 tankers are owned by Evangelos Pistiolis-led Top Ships in a 50-50 joint venture with Gunvor’s Clearlake Shipping.
Depending on when the closing of the sales take place and on prevailing USD Swap rates at the time of closing, the Company estimates that it will incur impairment charges ranging from $1.5 million to $3.5 million due to these sales (or losses per share ranging from $0.51 to $1.20) that will affect the year ended 2019 financial results and also estimates the cash release to the Company to range from $19 million to $21 million.
The global commodities giant Trafigura recently bought two medium range one tankers in the secondhand market from Top Ships, marking a first for the company in this particular segment.