Belgian tanker operator Euronav said Tuesday it had entered into a sale and leaseback agreement for the very large crude carrier Newton with China's Taiping & Sinopec Financial Leasing Ltd Co. The VLCC was sold for $36 million.
"The transaction produced a capital gain of about $2.4 million. After repayment of the existing debt, the transaction generated $19 million free cash," Euronav said.
The company has now leased back the 2009-built, 307,284 DWT VLCC under a 36-month bareboat contract at an average rate of $22,500 per day. At the end of the bareboat contract, the vessel will be redelivered to its owners.
Euronav CEO Hugo De Stoop, stated, “Euronav is pleased that we managed to execute another transaction with this leading Chinese counterparty, as it is a trusted partner. By securing an excellent price for this vessel, we maintain the capability to purchase younger tonnage, using the generated revenues. This is consistent with our approach on fleet renewal.”
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