US-listed Scorpio Tankers has added another $82m in liquidity through sale and leasebacks and a new loan.
The product tanker specialist has sealed the disposal and charter-back of eight MRs in a transaction with three financial institutions.
Two of the eight unnamed ships have already been delivered, and the remaining six vessels are expected to be handed over in the fourth quarter of this year.
When debt on the tankers is repaid, liquidity will have been boosted by $70m, the shipowner said.
In August, the company revealed it was in discussions with a group of financial institutions to refinance the eight ships, but it did not mention sale and leasebacks.
Scrubber loan in place
Scorpio Tankers has also received a new commitment for a scrubber financing facility worth $12m.
This will allow it to fit the exhaust cleaners on six of its MRs. Five have been installed to date.
In April this year, Scorpio reached an agreement to postpone the purchase and installation of scrubbers on 19 of its vessels.
This work is not expected to begin before 2021.
Including the new loan, Scorpio said it expects to raise $66m of aggregate additional liquidity once all of its scrubber loans are drawn.
"These drawdowns are expected to occur at varying points in the future as several of these financings are tied to scrubber installations on the company’s vessels," the owner added.
Norwegian investment bank Fearnley Securities said that as of August, Scorpio Tankers had $286m in cash.
Owners add to stake
The tanker company has also revealed that Scorpio Services Holding, a Scorpio Group company controlled by the family of chief executive Emanuele Lauro, has bought 100,000 Scorpio Tankers shares at an average price of $10.79 each.
The holding company previously had a stake of just below 5%.
And Scorpio Tankers president Robert Bugbee has used call options to acquire 200,000 shares for $457,000. Bugbee also has a stake in Scorpio Services Holding.
Earlier this week, the tanker owner said it was carrying out calls with investors with a view to selling a new bond.
Fearnley is expecting this to be a "large" issue based on the banks involved in hosting the calls.
