FSL Trust Management Pte. Ltd., as trustee-manager of First Ship Lease Trust (FSL Trust), announces that wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Trust have executed Memoranda of Agreement to sell two LR2 product tankers, FSL Piraeus and FSL Perth, to an unaffiliated third party; and have received the initial 10% deposit in escrow. 

FSL Trust sells two LR2 product tankers
Caption: Crude oil tanker FSL Piraeus - Image courtesy of William J Leach Jr

FSL Piraeus and FSL Perth are PRC-built 109,672 DWT product tankers built in 2006 that have been recently deployed under Pool Agreements. 

Completion of the Disposal is scheduled to take place before end January 2020, at which time the net proceeds will be utilised for partial repayment of the Trust’s outstanding bank debt; and, an estimated US$14.8 million, will be utilized towards the Newbuilding Acquisition announced on 13 December 2018 and 3 April 2019 and for general corporate purposes. 

As of 31 December 2019, the FSL Piraeus and FSL Perth will be classified as ‘held for sale’ in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the Trust will book an impairment charge of approximately US$5.0 million on these vessels.

Source: FSL