A joint venture involving three major shipping investors has secured new financing of up to $60m for a new VLCC they bought in January.
Idan Ofer, George Economou and Oystein Stray Spetalen paid $106m in March for the 300,000-dwt Gustavia S (built 2020) from Hartree Maritime Partners.
Spetalen-backed SD Standard Drilling, listed in Oslo, owns a 33.3% stake in the venture.
The company said on Thursday that the senior secured facility will carry an interest margin of 210 basis points above Libor for 17 years.
Money from the loan will be handed out equally to the owners this month or next month.
"By securing the credit facility Standard Drilling is expected to increase its cash holding substantially," said chairman Martin Nes.
Risk reduced
"By reducing the risk in this project and increasing our cash holding significantly, we have more flexibility going forward."
The DSME-built tanker is scrubber-fitted and has been on a fixed-voyage contract that was due to end in mid-June 2020 at an estimated time-charter equivalent rate of $35,000 per day.
The ship is managed by Economou's TMS Tankers and owned by a company called Zeta Owners.
In March, Standard Drilling said it was "pleased" with its new VLCC acquisition, but this could not protect the company from the downturn in the offshore vessel market.
The fleet, which also comprises 13 platform supply vessels, logged a net loss of $10.5m in the first quarter, against a profit of $3.08m in 2019.
As an investment company, not an operator, it does not report revenue. The loss arose from a revaluation of the offshore ships, which saw them marked down by $9.5m.
