UK shipping fund Tufton Oceanic Assets says none of its vessels has been affected by the war in Ukraine, as it stays away from high-risk areas.
The London-listed owner of tankers, container ships, bulkers and a gas carrier made a statement on Thursday in response to “potential general market concerns regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine”.
Tufton said it wanted to clarify that none of its ships had been impacted by “these very sad events”.
The company and its investment manager, Tufton Investment Management, added that they are deeply concerned about the Ukrainian people, including those working on the group’s vessels.
“All our vessels are operating in full compliance with applicable international sanctions and in accordance with their charters, all of which remain in full force and effect,” Tufton said.
“All our charters give the company the right to prohibit our vessels entering high-risk areas, which we will exercise as a matter of policy.”
The company has substantial charter coverage for its fleet.
Tufton explained that as shipping tends to perform well in periods of inflation, charter-free values are up so far this year in its core asset classes of handysize bulkers and tankers, and container ships.
The fund has been selling boxships in booming markets.
In February, a small container vessel was offloaded for a $9.25m profit on the price of $18m.
String of sales
Company statements suggested the deal involved the 2,500-teu Vicuna (built 2006), acquired in October 2019 for $8.75m.
It was the latest in a string of divestments in the container ship sector by the company.
Earlier that month, Tufton sold two similar-size vessels for a total of $21m.
Tufton has offloaded four other container ships in the past year as prices have soared, while nine vessels of all types have been offloaded in total since the company’s inception in 2018.
