Tufton Oceanic Assets continues to take advantage of the strong container ship market to offload another vessel at a significant profit.
The UK-based shipping fund has sold its 1,700-teu Swordfish (built 2008) to an unnamed buyer for $19m, according to a regulatory filing.
The vessel was acquired in January 2018 for $10.25m as one of the company’s first two investments, the London-listed company said.
"The realised net internal rate of return will be 27% and realised net multiple on invested capital will be 2.4x," the outfit added.
This is the third container ship that Tufton has sold since the summer following the sale of the 1,700-teu Kale (built 2008) and 2,500-teu Citra (built 2006) in July.
The Kale, which was bought in February 2018 for $10.25m, was sold for $21.5m, while the Citra, which was acquired in December 2018 for $13.1m, achieved $33m.
While it aims to hold its investments over the longer term, Tufton will seek to realise investments where "additional value can be generated for shareholders".
"This divestment, together with the various divestments announced since late 2020, demonstrates the company’s commitment to capital reallocation," Tufton said.
"This is increasingly relevant given the absolute and relative movements in asset values across and within the main shipping markets since the third quarter of 2020."
Tufton said it "continues to identify an attractive pipeline of opportunities" across a range of the company’s target sectors and expects to redeploy these proceeds promptly.
Prospective investments are said to include chemical or product tankers as well as bulkers.
Last month, US financial giant Fidelity emerged as a major investor in Tufton Oceanic Assets, with the Boston-based investor confirming a 5.55% stake in the company.
