Trafigura Group Pte Ltd., (Trafigura), a market leader in the global commodities industry announced on Friday (Oct 7) the structured sale and lease back to Bank of Communications Financial Leasing Co., Ltd, China of five medium-range, eco-type new-build tankers.
The new-build vessels, ordered by Trafigura in 2013 from Guangzhou shipyard China, can each carry close to 50,000-mts of dirty and clean petroleum products. They were delivered to Bank of Communications Financial Leasing Company Ltd at the end of September.
Image for illustrative purposes only
"The sale and lease back of the vessels concludes an entry and exit for now in owning product tankers for Trafigura,” said Rasmus Bach Nielsen, Global Head of Wet Freight for Trafigura. “The ships were bought at low entry levels and we saw an opportunity to sell now. While we have a significantly growing cargo programme it is not a must for us also to own the steel. This is our first transaction with BoCom Financial Leasing and we look forward working with them in the years ahead."
The number of Trafigura’s wet freight fixtures rose to 1,959 in 2015, from 1,680 in 2014 and with 2016 expected to generate more than 2,700 wet freight fixtures on the back of significantly increasing trading volumes.
Trafigura’s shipping and chartering desk is closely integrated into the company’s business model, providing freight services to the commodity trading teams internally while also trading freight externally with third parties. The team charters a range of tanker tonnage to meet its physical delivery requirements for the worldwide transportation of oil and petroleum products. The company’s wet freight desks deal in all vessel sizes from 2,000 to 300,000 deadweight tonnes tankers. The vessels trade in every market segment including crude, products, LNG and LPG. The team fix vessels on spot voyage and run a portfolio of time-charter ships with period commitments spanning 30 days to three years fixing both external and internal cargoes, aiming always to maximise the inherent value of the trading platform.
The terms of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Source: Trafigura