Marine Link
Saturday, December 14, 2024

General Maritime Corporation Announces Sale of Vessels

Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.

October 19, 2005

General Maritime Corporation announced that it has agreed to sell ten single-hull and double-sided Suezmax vessels en bloc to Tanker Pacific for $294.5 million. The Company expects to realize a net gain of $109 million from the sale of these ten vessels. The company intends to utilize the proceeds to pay down debt and therefore the proceeds will be excluded in the calculation of the dividend for the applicable quarters. The delivery of the vessels is expected to take place between November 2005 and January 2006. Peter C. Georgiopoulos, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President, stated, "Consistent with General Maritime's strategy of modernizing its fleet, we have entered into this opportunistic transaction that will enable the Company to further unlock shareholder value. In addition to selling the vessels at an extremely favorable price and earning an approximately 80% annualized return on our initial investment, the transaction improves the fleet's age profile, increases the percentage of double-hull vessels and further strengthens our balance sheet. With significant financial strength and flexibility, General Maritime is well positioned to build upon its past success and continue to seek opportunities to create enduring value for shareholders." The vessel sales include four single-hull and six double-sided vessels with an average age of approximately 15.5 years. Following the completion of the sale and including the four Suezmax newbuildings to be delivered between 2006 and 2008, the average age of General Maritime's fleet will be reduced to ten years and its percentage of double-hull vessels will be increased to 81%. As previously announced, General Maritime will host a conference call on October 27, 2005 at 8:30 a.m. eastern daylight time to discuss its results for the third quarter of 2005. The Company expects to announce its third quarter dividend with the announcement of its third quarter results.

Subscribe for
Maritime Reporter E-News

Maritime Reporter E-News is the maritime industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email five times per week