New York-listed Greek tanker owner Top Ships is pushing ahead with its fleet expansion and has agreed to acquire nine newbuildings of eco-MR product and chemical tankers.
The ships, each with a capacity of 47,499 tdw, are being built at Guangzhou Shipyard International in China and are scheduled for delivery in 2028 and 2029. The charter contracts already secured result in a potential sales order backlog of around USD 679 million.
Formally, Top Ships is acquiring 100% of the shares in nine special purpose entities in the Marshall Islands, which act as contractual partners for the shipbuilding contracts. The seller is a company associated with CEO and billionaire Evangelos Pistiolis. Due to this proximity to management, the transaction totaling approximately $41 million was reviewed and approved by a special committee of independent directors and an external fairness opinion was obtained.
The effectiveness of the shipbuilding contracts remains subject to customary reimbursement guarantees. The acquisition of the special purpose entities is also subject to financing. According to the company, the special purpose vehicles (SPVs) are currently finalizing lease financing with two major Chinese leasing companies, including ABC Financial Leasing. The financing is intended to cover the majority of the construction costs and has been arranged by the seller. One of the preconditions is the provision of a group guarantee by Top Ships.
Employment has already been secured for all nine newbuildings: a large oil trading group has concluded time charter contracts, each of which begins on delivery and runs for a fixed term of seven years. The charterer has options to extend the contract by a further four years. Including these option years, there is a potential gross turnover of around 679 million dollars.
With this project, Top Ships is continuing its strategy of expanding its fleet of modern, fuel-efficient tankers and securing revenue at an early stage through long-term employment. Pistiolis had already returned to the newbuilding market at the beginning of the year via its privately held Central Group, ordering ten MR product tankers from the same shipyard – an order worth almost $500 million, which also marks the group’s increased focus on Chinese shipyards.
