In total, about 40 ships were sold. More deals are expected in the future, sources said.
Russia’s largest state-owned shipping company, Sovcomflot, has sold at least 20 tankers to repay lenders and avoid default. On Monday, May 23, the Financial Times reports, citing sources.
It was noted that the company sells a sixth of its fleet. The default on debt obligations and the emergence of balance sheet problems will damage Sovcomflot’s reputation with lenders and large oil companies, including Shell and Total, that lease its ships, publication interlocutors said. in the industry.
function news4480281() {
$.get(‘//’ + window.location.host + ‘/ajax/module.aspx?spm_id=444&id=4480281&lang=2&IsAjax=true’, function (data) { $(‘#nk4480281’).html(data); });
}
news4480281();
At the same time, the buyer of the four LNG tankers, in the sale of which Dutch bank ING participated, was the Eastern Pacific Shipping company of Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.
Four more ships are now controlled by companies founded by Greek tycoon Evangelos Marinakis, owner of Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest football clubs, according to the newspaper.
ING has received part ownership of Sovcomflot’s ships so that buyers can contact the bank, and has not previously been sanctioned by Britain, the EU and Australia and the United States.
Allegedly, despite the tight timeline for the sale, the price for the four LNG carriers was close to their market value of $ 700 million, and the ships were leased by the original charterer, British Shell.
According to newspaper sources, about 40 ships have been put up for sale. More transactions are expected in the future.
At the end of February, Sovcomflot’s fleet list of own and chartered vessels consisted of 134 vessels with a total deadweight of more than 11.7 million tonnes. The list includes 108 tankers of various classes, 14 gas carriers and 11 specialized vessels.
It will be recalled that on May 13, it became known for the first time that Sovcomflot was selling part of its fleet. Then it was about “a dozen ships”, which received new owners from Asia and the Middle East.
It will be recalled that since April 18, the EU has closed all its ports for Russian ships. The exceptions apply only to those ships that sent an SOS (Mayday) signal. Decisions regarding such courts shall be made in each case.
News from Athletistic in the Telegram. Subscribe to our channel Athletistic
Source: korrespondent
I am Dylan Hudson, a dedicated and experienced journalist in the news industry. I have been working for Buna Times, as an author since 2018. My expertise lies in covering sports sections of the website and providing readers with reliable information on current sporting events.