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Euronav in $186m VLCC quartet sale and leaseback deal

Euronav in $186m VLCC quartet sale and leaseback deal
Euronav have sold and leased back four VLCCs in $186m deal.

The four VLCCs, one from 2006 and three from 2007, built at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co were sold to investment vehicles advised by Wafra Capital Partners. Wafra Capital Partners is majority owned by a agency of the government of Kuwait.

Euronav is chartering back the vessels for five years at $22,000 per day, per ship, which were delivered to their new owners on 22 December 2016.

Euronav booked a $37m capital gain on the transaction and said it would generate in excess of $100m in free cash.

“Euronav is very pleased to have executed this transaction in what have been challenging conditions for asset values in shipping markets. This transaction has the advantage of increasing our liquidity position for 2017 whilst maintaining our exposure to a market that, we believe, will be interesting over the next five years,” said Hugo de Stoop, cfo of Euronav.