Canada’s Altera Shuttle Tankers (AST) has confirmed a vessel sale in the third quarter as it cut its loss from a year ago.
It said that last month it agreed to offload the 50%-owned 150,200-dwt shuttle tanker Nordic Rio (built 2004) for continued use for $27m.
The vessel operates in the conventional tanker market and is co-owned with Sweden’s Stena Bulk.
Delivery to the buyer is expected in December 2022.
Brokers had reported the ship sold in September at $26m.
Vafias family-owned Stealth Maritime has been linked to the deal.
AST sold two other shuttle tankers in July.
The 50%-owned 151,300-dwt Navion Gothenburg (built 2006), which had also been operating in regular tanker markets, went for further trading at $26m.
Brokers had put the price at $25m.
The ship is now called the Tyche 1, under the ownership of Ship Management Services in Hong Kong.
The 93,000-dwt Petronordic (built 2002) went for scrap at $7m and delivered in September.
Chapter 11 filing
AST is owned by Brookfield-controlled Altera Infrastructure, the former Teekay Offshore.
Altera Infrastructure filed for Chapter 11 protection in a US Bankruptcy Court in Houston in August, bringing with it a pre-packaged plan under which Brookfield would convert $750m of debt into Altera equity.
AST, which is not part of the filing, said on Tuesday that the parent is expected to emerge from Chapter 11 on or about 10 December.
In August, the shuttle tanker unit redeemed the remaining $69m of its 7.125% bonds listed in Oslo, which were repaid at 101% of par value.
In the same month, AST issued $15m of stock to Altera Infrastructure Holdings, increasing the overall equity of the company.
The net loss in the third quarter was $2m, down from $13m in 2021.
Revenue grew to $152m, against $119m the year before, but interest costs spiked to $28m from $21m over the same period, “primarily due to increased interest rates on our outstanding borrowings and related party borrowings with Brookfield”.
