Euronav swoops on fourth DSME VLCC newbuild resale
Written by Nick Blenkey
Image: Euronav
Euronav NV (NYSE: EURN & Euronext: EURN) has entered into an agreement to acquire a fourth resale VLCC newbuilding contract.
Last month the tanker giant reached an agreement to acquire three VLCCs, currently completing construction at the DSME shipyard in South Korea for an aggregate purchase price of $280.5 million, or $93.5 million per ship.
This latest acquisition is also completing construction at DSME and like the other three will be fitted with exhaust gas scrubber technology and a ballast water treatment system. The vessel is due for delivery early in the first quarter of 2021 and is an identical sister ship of the three VLCCs acquired last month. However, Euronav is paying a little less for it— $93 million not $93.5 million.
“Management and the board continue to believe that the fundamentals of the large tanker market remain constructive despite substantial headwinds surrounding economic activity linked to the coronavirus,” said Euronav CEO Hugo de Stoop, CEO. “We believe and hope these will be temporary albeit likely to impact tanker markets until the end of the summer 2020.”
Euronav says the transaction is consistent with its core company objectives with the vessel being an ex-yard resale, and thus not adding to existing vessel supply.
Euronav says it will meet the financing of this acquisition with existing borrowing facilities and debt capacity. The payment profile for the transaction means that the largest portion of the installments will be made on ship delivery. Tel: +44
