Oslo-listed Borealis Finance has sold two sub-panamax containerships estimated to be worth $30m en bloc.
The 2,556-teu Bomar Caen (built 2004) and 2,478-teu Rossini (built 2005) have been bought by unnamed liner operators that will take delivery in the third quarter of the year.
The two ships were acquired from German interests in 2015 by Embarcadero Maritime, an investment company established by Borealis Finance’s ship-management operation Borealis Maritime and US private equity giant KKR.
The Bomar Caen is a gearless vessel that is estimated by VesselsValue to be worth $15.4m. It is scheduled to be delivered in July.
S&P action
The Rossini is geared with three cranes and has been sold after its charterer exercised a purchase option. It will be delivered in August and is worth an estimated $14.45m.
The two vessels were listed among 13 sold five years ago by Germany’s Commerzbank.
Most remain under the management of UK-based Borealis Maritime.
Borealis Finance has been relatively active in the sale and purchase market this year, selling the 2,732-teu Telemann for $7.5m and 2,510-teu Bomar Hermes (both built 2006) for $6m.
Disposals and bond amendments drag down results
It has also been renewing its fleet.
In March, the company paid $20m for Torvald Klaveness’ 2,546-teu Bardu (built 2014) and renamed it Ravel.
The vessel joined the 3,421-teu Nordic Macau (built 2014) and 3,600-teu Elbsun (built 2012), which it acquired late last year for $21.8m en bloc.
Borealis Finance reported a loss before tax last year of $20.4m, up from a loss of $10.5m in 2019.
This is mainly down to losses on vessel disposals and bond amendments, compared with the previous year.
The result reflected the subdued nature of the containership charter market last year, the company said. However, it expects rising charter rates to affect results in 2021.
Most of the new charters on its fleet began to kick in towards the end of 2020 and in the first quarter of this year, said managing director Christoph Toepfer.
He confirmed that the company is taking advantage of the strong market to sell some older vessels.
Profit from vessel operations was $9.3m, up from $7.3m in 2019.
Revenues from time charter and pool income amounted to $87.2m.
The company expects to report first-quarter results towards the end of May.
