The U.S.-based tanker owner International Seaways is prepaying USD 100 million of the outstanding balance of its 2017 term loan facility.
The company explained that the loan would be prepaid using cash set aside from the proceeds of vessel sales and a portion of the proceeds from the earlier announced USD 123 million sale of the 49.9% stake in its LNG joint venture with Qatar’s Nakilat.
“We are pleased to have further executed on our disciplined and accretive capital allocation strategy by using a substantial portion of our LNG sales proceeds to reduce leverage and significantly lower our cost of capital during a time when our cash position remains strong,” said Jeff Pribor, International Seaways’ CFO.
Pribor further noted that, following the USD 100 million debt prepayment, the company anticipates cash interest expense to decrease by around USD 8.2 million on an annual basis and USD 1.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2019 based on current interest rates.
“Additionally, this leverage reduction positions us for further balance sheet optimization.”