TOP Ships Buys Stake in M/T Stenaweco Elegance
Ship owner TOP Ships Inc. said it will purchase for $6.5 million an additional 41 percent interest in Eco Seven Inc., a Marshall Islands company that owns M/T Stenaweco Elegance, a 50,188 dwt medium range (MR) product tanker, which is operating under a three year time charter at a rate of $16,500 per day expiring in March 2020.
Since February 2017, TOP Ships has invested $28.2 million in acquisitions, including:
- 90 percent ownership interest in M/T Stenaweco Elegance, which includes the aforementioned investment;
- 49 percent ownership interest in M/T ECO Holmby Hills, a 50,000 dwt newbuilding product/chemical tanker scheduled for delivery from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co. Ltd. in January 2018;
- 49 percent ownership interest in M/T ECO Palm Springs, a 50,000 dwt newbuilding product/chemical tanker scheduled for delivery from Hyundai in April 2018;
- 100 percent ownership interest in M/T ECO Palm Desert, a 50,000 dwt newbuilding product/chemical tanker scheduled for delivery from Hyundai in July 2018.
TOP Ships president and CEO Evangelos Pistiolis said, “In 2014 we focused the company on a newbuilding program of high specification eco-friendly MR product tankers at Hyundai. Since then we have taken delivery of seven of these vessels and employed them under three to five year fixed rate contracts.”
“With the acquisition of the sister ship M/T Stenaweco Elegance, our operating fleet’s average age was reduced to 1.5 years making it one of the youngest MR product tanker fleets in the world and our charter backlog currently stands at about $100 million, providing cashflow visibility reaching into 2021,” Pistiolis said.
“In July 2018 after the delivery of our last newbuilding vessel the company will have a 10 vessel operating fleet with an average age of 1.7 years. As a result of this strategy, the company remains cashflow positive after meeting all of its operating and senior debt obligations. Furthermore on current vessel valuations our fleet is leveraged less than 60 percent.
“Our business strategy continues to be focused on further expanding our fleet as we take delivery of our three remaining newbuildings next year and employ them under medium term fixed rate contracts.”