Stelmar Shipping Ltd. has taken delivery of the Rubymar, a new 69,697 dwt Panamax tanker from the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering Company Ltd. of South Korea. The Rubymar has entered into a previously announced 24-month time charter with SONAP (National Oil Company of Chile) for $17,500 per day.
Rubymar is a sister ship to the Jademar and the Pearlmar, which were delivered in the first quarter and entered into previously announced 24-month time charters with Adam Maritime Corporation. On April 17, 2002 Stelmar announced that it priced its secondary offering. Including the over-allotment option exercised by its underwriters, Stelmar sold 4.9 million shares of the Company's common stock at $14.00 per share.
The offering, including the exercise of the over allotment option, will generate gross proceeds of approximately $69.2 million dollars which the Company will primarily use to fund the equity portion of the purchase of two modern secondhand Handymax tankers and two newly built Panamax tankers.
The contracts for these four tankers, which are expected to be delivered during the second quarter of 2002, have been secured. The newly built Panamax tankers are fixed on five-year time charters at an average rate of $18,500 per day. Including these four tankers and the last newbuilding Panamax tanker scheduled for delivery in May of 2002, Stelmar Shipping's fleet will consist of 31 tankers of which 19 are Handymax tankers, eight are Panamax tankers and four are Aframax tankers.
Jefferies & Company, Inc. acted as the lead manager for the offering, with Lazard, Hibernia Southcoast Capital, Inc. and Alpha Finance U.S. Corporation acting as co-managers.