Tufton Oceanic Asset Tufton Oceanic -SHPP - Acquisition of Two Tankers & New Debt Financing

Tufton Assets

20/09/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 8113Z  Tufton Oceanic Assets Ltd.  20 September 2022

20 September 2022

 

Tufton Oceanic Assets Limited (The "Company")

Acquisition of two Product Tankers, new Debt Financing

 

The Board of Tufton Oceanic Assets Limited (ticker: SHIP.L) is pleased to
announce the Company has agreed to acquire two Product Tankers for $73.0m.
They are being acquired below depreciated replacement cost. These acquisitions
will take the Company's fleet to twenty-three vessels.

 

Both vessels have fixed rate time charters for three to five years to a major
commodity trading and logistics company. The yield during the charters exceeds
the targets expressed in the Company's prospectus dated 25 September 2018.

 

The acquisitions are being financed primarily by a new $60m loan, which will
be secured on the two Product Tankers being acquired, Courteous and Mindful,
and the two Product Tankers acquired earlier this year, Marvelous and
Exceptional. In parallel with Courteous and Mindful being chartered as
described above, Marvelous will also enter a fixed rate time charter for three
to five years to the same major commodity trading and logistics company from
November. Until then Marvelous will operate in the spot market via employment
in a pool as described in our announcement of 10 June 2022.

 

The Company will repay the loan over 3 to 5 years depending on the charter
coverage of the four vessels at the relevant time. Exceptional will be
available for a new charter by April 2024.

 

These four Product Tankers are in the top quartile of fuel efficiency in their
market segment but will nonetheless be evaluated for further improvement,
including the retrofit of energy saving devices.

 

After the acquisitions, which are expected to close in mid November, and the
new charter for Marvelous, the average portfolio charter length will be 1.4
years. Pro forma leverage will be c.15% of portfolio charter-free value.

 

These acquisitions, charters and financing demonstrate our commitments to
capital re-allocation and ESG, and also the strong improvement in the product
and chemical tanker markets previously communicated.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Tufton Investment Management Ltd (Investment Manager)                  +44 (0) 20 7518 6700

 Andrew Hampson

 Paulo Almeida

 Singer Capital Markets                                                +44 (0) 20 7496 3000

 James Maxwell, Alex Bond (Corporate Finance)

 Alan Geeves, James Waterlow, Sam Greatrex (Sales)

 Hudnall Capital LLP                                                     +44 (0) 20 7520 9085

 Andrew Cade

 

About the Company

Tufton Oceanic Assets Limited invests in a diversified portfolio of secondhand
commercial sea-going vessels with the objective of delivering strong cash flow
and capital gains to investors. The Company's investment manager is Tufton
Investment Management Ltd. The Company has raised a total of approximately
$316.5m (gross) through its Initial Public Offering on the Specialist Fund
Segment of the London Stock Exchange on 20 December 2017 and subsequent
capital raises.

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