Pelagic Credit seals $47.4m Hartmann bulker leaseback
Key Takeaways
- •Pelagic Credit has agreed a $47.4 million sale-and-leaseback transaction for three Hartmann-controlled handysize bulkers.
- •The deal marks Pelagic Credit’s first investment in the dry bulk sector.
- •The vessels will be chartered back under firm seven-year bareboat contracts, with an option to buy after five years and a purchase requirement at the end of the charter period.
- •Pelagic Credit said the transaction will add about $107.1 million to its firm gross bareboat charter backlog, or $115.6 million including options.
- •The company expects to refinance the acquisition through a senior secured credit facility, which would lower its net capital commitment to about $10.5 million.
Oslo-listed Pelagic Credit has agreed a $47.4m sale-and-leaseback transaction involving three Hartmann-controlled handysize bulkers, marking its first investment in the dry bulk sector.
The Limassol-based shipping investor will acquire the 2016-built Federal Alster and the 2017-built sister ships Federal Mosel and Federal Ruhr. Each vessel is around 36,600 dwt.
After closing, the ships will be chartered back to a wholly owned Hartmann Group subsidiary under firm seven-year bareboat contracts. The charterer has an option to buy the vessels after five years and is required to purchase them at the end of the charter period.
The three vessels are also employed on long-term time charters with an unnamed leading dry bulk shipping company, giving the deal an added layer of contracted employment beyond the bareboat structure.
Pelagic Credit said the transaction would add about $107.1m to its firm gross bareboat charter backlog, increasing to $115.6m including options. The company plans to refinance the acquisition after closing through a senior secured credit facility, which would reduce its net capital commitment to about $10.5m.
The deal broadly corresponds to Project Holly, one of the investments outlined before Pelagic Credit’s Oslo listing, but it has been secured with longer employment, a lower capital requirement and an extension option linked to the underlying time charters. That makes it one of the company’s larger contracted additions so far as it continues to build out a portfolio that now spans multipurpose vessels, an offshore support vessel and, more recently, chemical tanker exposure. Closing is expected in the coming weeks.
Pelagic Credit listed on Euronext Growth Oslo in March after raising $58m in a private placement. Its earlier investments include three multipurpose vessels and the 2015-built offshore support vessel Nautical Singapore.
The company has also recently entered the chemical tanker sector with $24.7m in pre-delivery financing for two 10,000 dwt newbuilds scheduled for delivery in 2028.