Herbjorn Hansson's Nordic American Tankers (NAT) has fixed financing for its recently acquired suezmax newbuildings in a sale and leaseback deal with Norway's Ocean Yield.
The Kjell Inge Rokke-backed shipowner said it had acquired the two 157,000-dwt tankers at up to $44m each, after seller's credits at a minimum level of 20%.
The vessels are scheduled for delivery from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea during the first half of 2022.
They will be leased back to NAT for 10 years. The US-listed company has certain options to acquire or to sell the vessels during the charter period.
NAT already has three 2018-built suezmaxes on similar Ocean Yield leases.
The September order was NAT's first in four years as shipyards reduced their sale prices amid depressed demand.
The contract price has not been disclosed, but VesselsValue rates the newbuildings as worth $55m each.
The lease financing is for up to 80% of the yard price.
Deal done early
NAT said: "It is an advantage to secure the long-term financing for these two newbuildings at an early stage and with an existing lender."
"One objective of NAT is to become a debt free company," the shipowner added.
Ocean Yield chief financial officer Eirik Eide was not immediately available for further comment.
NAT said it had funded 20% of the newbuilding payments back in September and was considering various financing alternatives at that point.
Sale and leaseback transactions are becoming an increasingly important financing source for shipowners as some banks pull back from lending to the sector.
