Diamond S Obtains USD 525 Mn to Finance Debt

New York-listed owner and operator of crude and product tankers Diamond S Shipping Inc. has closed on a five-year USD 525 million credit facility.

The company said that the facility is composed of a USD 375 million term loan and a USD 150 million revolving credit facility.

Proceeds from the new credit facility were used to repay approximately USD 501 million of the company’s current outstanding term loans.

The repayment profile reflects a 17-year, age-adjusted amortization and the first amortization period begins on March 31, 2020. The covenant structure of the new facility is in-line with current facilities.

“We are pleased that we were able to close on this facility and achieve a number of important goals, particularly given the challenging international environment for ship lending,” said Kevin Kilcullen, Chief Financial Officer.

“We have also accomplished a number of other objectives including increasing our available liquidity, lowering our average interest rate margin and improving our financial flexibility to support the growth of Diamond S.”

The facility was secured by international ship lending banks including Nordea Bank Abp (New York Branch), Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (publ), ABN AMRO, National Australia Bank and BNP Paribas.

The Greenwich-based company owns and operates 66 vessels, including 15 Suezmax vessels, one Aframax and 50 medium-range (MR) product tankers.