Bergen Box to sell containership trio to parent after annual loss

Loss-making containership owner Bergen Box Carriers is selling its three ships to its main shareholder, the Nistad group.

The 868-teu Andrea and Angela (both built 2005) and the 601-teu Green Fast (built 1996) are being sold for €14m ($15.5m) en bloc, according to the Norwegian financial daily Finansavisen,

At the end of last year, the three ships had a book value of NOK 68.6m ($7.63m).

The sale of the JJ Sietas-built vessels will allow Bergen Box to pay NOK 173m to Sparebanken Vest, which financed the trio.

The Bergen-based shipowner reported negative book equity of NOK 571m as of the end of last year, and it had a pre-tax loss of NOK 27m last year. In 2017, its loss was NOK 63m.

Bergen Box has had negative equity since 2007.