John Fredriksen’s SFL Corporation has agreed to acquire two new eco-design feeder container vessels with long-term time charters attached to a leading European liner.
The New York-listed firm said the vessels should deliver from an undisclosed shipyard in the third and fourth quarter of 2022.
The time charters will run for a period of a minimum of seven years, adding approximately $120m to SFL’s fixed-rate backlog and with purchase options at the end of years six and seven, including a profit share feature, SFL said. So far this year, SFL has added around $1.4bn to its fixed-rate backlog.
Commenting on the acquisition, Ole B. Hjertaker, CEO of SFL Management, stated: “The transaction demonstrates our ability to expand our fleet and existing customer relationships through repeat transactions with swift execution. We find the deal attractive given the investment grade counterpart, immediate cash flow and with charter terms enabling us to quickly reduce asset exposure over the firm period.”
Last month, SFL snapped up four suezmax tankers from Turkey’s Ciner Shipping for $222.5m. The vessels should deliver between August and October and come with long-term time charters attached to a subsidiary of Koch Industries.
