Joint venture companies owned by Sovcomflot (SCF Group), NYK Line and Samudera have refinanced two Indonesian LNG carriers for $155m.
The shipowners said the new credit facility with MUFG Bank and Development Bank of Japan matures over eight years.
The cash refinances the joint venture vessels serving the Tangguh LNG plant, the 145,700-cbm Tangguh Towuti and Tangguh Batur (both built 2008).
VesselsValue assesses the units as worth around $72m each.
Tangguh is managed by Tangguh Production Sharing Contractors (TPSC), an international consortium.
The plant is operated by BP and began LNG exports in 2009.
The annual output of extracted gas is 7.6m tonnes, which is exported to China, South Korea and the US, as well as being used domestically.
New lenders
Sovcomflot's chief financial officer Nikolay Kolesnikov said the group was pleased to begin relations with new international financial institutions.
"SCF Group continues to demonstrate uninterrupted access to finance amid market cyclicality, which allows us to maintain a smooth debt repayment profile and a robust long-term liquidity position, fully in line with our budgetary targets," he added.
Last month, Sovcomflot completed its long-delayed initial public offering in Moscow.
The shipowner has $550m to spend after selling more than 408m new shares at RUB 105 ($1.34) each.
The IPO valued the company at about $3.2bn.
