Genco Shipping & Trading Limited Advances Fleet Renewal Strategy
Acquired Two High Specification Scrubber-Fitted Capesize Vessels; Agreed to Sell Older, Less Fuel-Efficient Capesize Vessel.
NEW YORK -- Genco Shipping & Trading Limited, the largest U.S. headquartered drybulk shipowner focused on the global transportation of commodities, has acquired an additional 2016-built 181,000 dwt scrubber-fitted Capesize vessel, the Genco Reliance, for a purchase price of $43.0 million. The Company took delivery of the Genco Reliance, as well as the previously announced Capesize acquisition, the Genco Ranger, during the last week of November 2023.
Genco also announced today that it has agreed to sell the Genco Commodus, a 2009-built 169,098 dwt Capesize vessel, for $19.5 million. This anticipated sale will result in drydocking savings in 2024 due to the vessel’s upcoming third special survey. The vessel is expected to deliver to buyers in January 2024.
Genco intends to fund the above acquisitions through a combination of cash on hand, a drawdown on its revolving credit facility and proceeds from the sale of the Genco Commodus. Assuming this drawdown on our revolver and the closing of our previously announced $500 million credit facility, we expect to have debt outstanding of approximately $210 million and undrawn revolver availability of approximately $290 million.
John C. Wobensmith, Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased to have taken important steps to advance our fleet renewal strategy. Leveraging our significant financial strength, we opportunistically acquired two modern, fuel-efficient Capesize vessels, while divesting older, non-core tonnage. We expect these two new Capes will seamlessly integrate into our global commercial platform, as sister ships to existing Genco vessels. Importantly, we’ve enhanced the average age of our asset base and improved our earnings capacity to take advantage of favorable long-term industry fundamentals.”
Mr. Wobensmith concluded, “Given that the acquired Capesizes are high-specification vessels, we viewed these fleet additions as highly attractive, positioning Genco well for the longer term while also improving the efficiency of our fleet to further reduce our carbon footprint. Going forward, we intend to continue to assess additional sale and purchase transactions in the market and at the same time remain focused on delivering sizable dividends to shareholders, deleveraging, and further growth.”
Note: Captioned image is for illustration purpose only. Image source - Genco Shipping & Trading Website
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