Performance Shipping Buys Secondhand Aframax Tanker

Greek shipowner Performance Shipping on Thursday announced it has signed a memorandum of agreement to purchase a secondhand 105,408 dwt LR2 Aframax oil product tanker for $43.75 million.

The vessel, Fos Hamilton, was built by South Korea's Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2013 and is equipped with an eco-electronic engine and ballast water management system (BWMS). It is scheduled to be delivered to the company in mid-December 2022 and will be renamed P. Long Beach.

Performance Shipping said it will finance the acquisition with cash proceeds from the previously announced sale its oldest vessel, P. Fos, as well as a new senior secured facility.

Andreas Michalopoulos, Performance Shipping’s CEO, said, “The acquisition of our second LR2 Aframax tanker, which has a green engine and is also BWTS fitted, marks our company’s further step towards establishing a solid position in the refined petroleum product tanker sector, which we believe has strong, sustainable fundamentals and prospects.

“Upon delivery of the two recently acquired tankers, anticipated to take place in December, and the concurrent sale of the oldest vessel in our fleet, our fleet has now nearly doubled in size and will consist of eight modern, high specification Aframax tankers with an average age of 11.6 years. 

“With a solid base of lucrative secured revenues of approximately $85 million, we intend to enhance the earnings of our expanded and renewed fleet with spot charters mainly through pool agreements thereby enabling us to capture the strong prevailing market conditions and generate significant cash flow moving forward.”