Norway’s Gram Car Carriers (GCC) has taken advantage of “historically high” secondhand values to cash in on two smaller and older vessels.
The Oslo-listed third-largest tonnage provider within the car carrier segment with 19 owned ships has sold the 1996-built 1,000 ceu Viking Princess and the 2010-built 2,000 ceu Viking Constanza to an undisclosed European vehicle logistics company for $43.5m.
The company said it expects a total book gain of $19m after the sales are completed in the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.
“The transaction supports our strategy of owning and operating a modern fleet which reflects the demand from our customers, the world’s leading operators of PCTC tonnage. We are capturing additional value in a historically strong car shipping market and will free up capital to both strengthen our balance sheet and support dividend distributions in line with our policy of paying 75% of net income,” said Georg Whist, the CEO of GCC.
