TORM Orders MR Tanker Trio at GSI
Danish ship owner TORM exercised options for the construction of three MR newbuildings at Chinese shipyard Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI) for expected delivery in 2019 through first quarter of 2020.
The three newbuilds will cost $93 million. TORM said it has secured commitment for vessel financing of up to $63 million from KfW and ABN AMRO, subject to loan documentation.
“The vessels are attractively priced when comparing to the current market, and we believe that now is an attractive time to secure new fuel-efficient tonnage that is compliant with the ballast water convention and ready for the IMO 2020 sulfur requirements," said TORM executive director, Jacob Meldgaard. “The vessels are already fully funded by our $100 million equity raise in January 2018 and through loan commitments from KfW and ABN AMRO.”
Since 2017, TORM has spent $352 million to purchase nine MR vessels and two LR1 vessels. The vessels are all fuel-efficient and high-specification product tankers that are compliant with the ballast water convention and ready for the IMO 2020 sulfur requirements.
As of today, TORM has CAPEX commitments of $335 million covering the remaining CAPEX on TORM's two LR2 vessels with expected delivery in 2018, two LR1 vessels and seven MR vessels with expected delivery in 2019 and first quarter of 2020. TORM's undrawn credit facilities and cash today amount to approximately $526 million.
