Oman Shipping to Acquire 10 Tankers
Omani government-owned Oman Shipping Company (OSC) has secured USD 227 million in debt to finance the acquisition of ten tankers, Reuters said citing France-based Societe Generale.
The new medium range tankers are chartered to Shell Tankers Singapore for seven years.
Societe Generale acted as sole arranger and sole underwriter for the landmark transaction, which involved a combination of export credit agency (ECA) and commercial financing. Seven of the 10 vessels were covered by Korea’s export credit agency, K-Sure.
Comprising a combination of commercial debt and export credit agency financing, the agreement covers the purchase of 50,000 dwt medium-range tankers constructed by South Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries.
“We are very pleased with the successful close of this landmark transaction particularly in the current environment, a testimony to our current strategy and its robustness. Beyond the importance for OSC, this deal perfectly meets our company’s objectives in terms of diversification of funding sources,” the report quoted Tarik Al-Junaidi, chief executive officer, Oman Shipping Company as saying.