Diana Shipping has sold and leased back two capesize bulkers to two undisclosed Japanese buyers in deals that bring in $66.4m in proceeds.
The Semiramis Paliou-led owner of 43 bulkers said on Wednesday that it sold the 180,960-dwt New Orleans and the 179,426-dwt Santa Barbara (both built 2015) for $33.2m each to two unaffiliated Japanese third parties.
New York-listed Diana will bareboat charter-in the vessels for eight years and may buy the ships back after the third year of the deals.
The rate that the company will pay to lease back the deals was not revealed.
The New Orleans would be worth between $38.8m and $43m in an open market transaction, while the Santa Barbara would fetch about $35.7m and $38.3m, according to separate estimates by valuation platform VesselsValue and Maritime Strategies International.
Both Chinese-built ships are employed on time charters that last until next year.
Diana Shipping has the New Orleans on a charter to Engelhart CTP Freight at $32,000 per day in a deal that started 25 March and will continue until at least 10 November 2023, according to a fleet employment table on its website.
The company also locked up the Santa Barbara at $29,500 per day in a charter to Cargill that started 19 March and will last until 10 May 2023.
The Athens-based company made the sale-and-leaseback move just days after it had bought nine ultramaxes from Stamford-based Sea Trade Holdings for $330m, an en-bloc purchase that received analyst criticism.
Eric Priante Martin contributed to this story.
