FSL Trust sells three remaining boxships, exits sector

FSL Trust Management Pte., the trustee-manager of First Ship Lease Trust, has executed memoranda of agreement to sell three remaining containerships from its fleet, thus exiting the sector.

The containerships in question include FSL Eminence, FSL Elixir and YM Enhancer.

The trustee manager said the ships were sold to unaffiliated third parties and that it has received the initial 10% deposit in escrow.

The containerships have a capacity of 4,250 TEU each and were owned by FSL Trust since they were built in 2008.

FSL Eminence and FSL Elixir were redelivered to the trust upon completion of their charters with Yang Ming Marine in May and June 2020, respectively, and are expected to be delivered to their buyers as soon as practically possible.

The vessel YM Enhancer is chartered to Yang Ming Marine until October 2020 and is expected to be delivered to its buyers upon completion of the charter.

FSL Trust ended the 2nd quarter 2020 with a positive net result of $ 1.33 million and an adjusted EBITDA of $10.18 million.

For the 1st half of 2020, FSL Trust’s reported a net profit of $ 8 million and an adjusted EBITDA 22.74 million, an increase of 59% y-o-y and 4% y-o-y, respectively.

“The positive results and strong cash generation were primarily driven by the firm tanker markets during the first five months of 2020, as well as the disposal of three ageing vessels at firm prices in the 1st quarter 2020,” FLS Trust said.

Once the sale is completed, FSL Trust will have 9 product tankers in its fleet, two chemical tankers, and one crude oil tanker.

The company has two LR2 tanker newbuilings on order in China. According to FLS Trust the construction is progressing smoothly, with the first ship from the batch launched afloat in June 2020, while the keel has been laid for the second ship from the series in April 2020.

The ships are expected to be delivered in late 2020 and early 2021 respectively.