Overseas Shipholding Group was in the red in final quarter of the year.
The Tampa-based Jones Act player posted a $5.2m loss for the fourth quarter, a $0.05 per share loss and a year-over-year decline of $58.8m.
Despite the quarterly deficit, OSG logged a $13.5m profit for the full year, down from $56m in 2017.
The company's shipping revenue also dropped in the last three months of the year by 4% to $89.2m. Adjusted Ebitda dropped by 7% to $23.1m.
But chief executive Sam Norton trumpeted a slew of December charter extensions and the refinancing of a $380m loan originally due August 2019, which is now pushed back to late 2023.
"During 2018, we took steps to reduce debt, gain cost efficiencies, and retain capacity available to capture value from an improving rate environment, positioning the company well to benefit from the inherent operating leverage of its business model," he said. "The fourth quarter saw continued progress in the developing recovery story for OSG’s core Jones Act businesses."
"We are as convinced as ever that improving fundamentals will support a continuing recovery, and we expect to benefit from that recovery as our fleet of conventional tankers is re-chartered beginning in late 2019.”
He said the refinancing and the extension of nine leases with American Shipping Co "removed considerable uncertainty" and stabilised its balance sheet.
"Commitments to invest in new barges, new tankers, and the long-term lease of an existing Jones Act tanker provide tangible evidence of our confidence in our core markets and in our commitment to sustaining a leading position in the markets that we serve," Norton said.
