Chemical tanker company Team Tankers has reached a sale and leaseback agreement for one of its vessels at a price of USD 12.5 million.
The deal was agreed in April 2019 for the 44,999 dwt chemical/product tanker Team Tapatio.
The company said that the 2003-built unit was expected to join its buyer in May 2019. The ship will then be time charter back to Team Tankers for a period of three years.
Team Tankers recorded an estimated loss of USD 0.2 million from the transaction and has included this vessel in ships held for sale as of March 31, 2019.
The company revealed the sale and leaseback deal as part of its first quarter of 2019 financial report, in which it said that total freight revenue fell to USD 83.6 million in the period, compared to USD 88.2 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2018. The change was primarily the result of fewer on-hire days due to fleet changes and drydock activity.
Net loss in the first quarter of 2019 was USD 7.9 million compared with a net loss of USD 36.4 million in the previous period. Included in the net loss for the fourth quarter of 2018 was a vessel impairment charge of USD 18 million and onerous charter contracts of USD 3.5 million.
The freight market improved in the period ended March 31, 2019, leading to an increased TCE of USD 12,123 compared to USD 10,854 in the previous quarter.