SinOceanic Shipping is selling its few remaining neo-panamax boxships.
The Oslo tonnage provider is expected to sell four vessels to a Chinese buyer in a deal that could be worth more than $320m.
The 9,400-teu MSC Palak and MSC Elma (both built 2016), and the MSC Romane and MSC Giulia (both built 2017) are expected to be sold with a bareboat charter to Mediterranean Shipping Co (MSC) attached.
SinOceanic chairman and chief executive Jan Hakon Pettersen played down reports that the vessels have been sold, but confirmed that the company was “working” on a sale.
SinOceanic has made no secret of its plans to sell part of its fleet to return equity to its cash-strapped Chinese parent, HNA Group.
Sources in Europe believe that its last four vessels are being sold to a Chinese leasing house.
Some point to China Huarong Financial Leasing (Huarong FL) as a possible buyer, although Huarong could not be reached for comment.
Each of the vessels are valued at around $80m per vessel.
In January, SinOceanic sold a sistership, the 9,404-teu MSC Desiree (built 2017), to Germany’s Blue Star Holdings.
That involved a $90m project which included a 15-year bareboat charter to MSC.
But sources with major Chinese leasing houses believe that the sale of the remaining four ships could take some time because of several complicating factors.
These include the approval process involving the seller’s major shareholder HNA as well as charterer MSC, “and more reasons”.
The disposal of four ships would leave SinOceanic with four smaller containership on the water.
In June, SinOceanic sold the 8,500-teu Parsifal (built 2006) for $25m to Gemini Shipholdings, an affiliate of US-listed boxship player Danaos Corp.
It also has five 11,500-teu vessels on order with Chinese yard Jinhai Intelligent Manufacturing for delivery next year.
But the fate of those ships, and how many of them will be completed, remains unclear due to the difficult financial condition of the shipyard.
