UK owner Tufton Oceanic Assets has expanded its fleet again with a move for two product tankers.
Tufton said the unnamed vessels are costing $23m and bring the fleet to 18 ships.
Both tankers have fixed-rate time charters for three to five years to a major commodity trading and logistics company.
The yield during the charters exceeds the targets expressed in the company's prospectus from 2018, Tufton added.
In parallel with these acquisitions, a subsidiary of the company will complete a debt financing of $24m with an all-in cost below 5%.
The new loan will be secured on four of the company's product tankers with charters of between two-and-a-half and three years, plus charterers' options to extend.
"The company expects to repay the loan within three years in line with the visible charter cash flow, but can choose to repay over up to five years if the charters are extended," Tufton Oceanic added.
More opportunities out there
Tufton Investment Management, the company's investment manager, continues to identify an attractive pipeline of opportunities across a range of target sectors, the company said.
Tufton Oceanic also owns boxships and three handysize bulkers. The average charter length is two-and-a-half years.
The company has been contacted for further comment.
Last month, Tufton said it was expecting further challenges over the rest of 2020 after revealing a loss in the 12 months to 30 June.
But it said recent upturns in bulker and boxship markets should benefit the bottom line.
The company produced a strong portfolio operating profit of $29m, but this was outweighed by a $30m non-cash fair value loss as asset values fell in line with demand.
The net loss in the year to 30 June was $1.22m, compared to a profit of $16.42m in the previous 12 months.
In May, Tufton spent $7m on an unnamed handysize bulker, bringing its fleet to 16 ships.
Three months prior, the company sold vessels for the first time, offloading three general cargoships for $19.3m. The 30,000-dwt Zea Dalian (built 2004), Zea Hamburg (built 2002) and Zea Jakarta (built 2003) had been acquired from Zeaborn of Germany last year.
