Navios in shock tanker splash

Angeliki Frangou’s Navios Maritime Acquisition Corp has made a surprise move into the tanker market by splashing out nearly $460m on 13 ships.

Angeliki Frangou.

Navios Acquisition, a spin-off from listed bulker owner Navios Maritime Holdings, has also secured options on two more tankers.

In a statement Navios Acquisition says it was drawn to buy the 11 product tankers and two chemical tankers due to the historically low prices on offer.

Frangou said: "The recent financial crisis and related developments in the product and chemical tanker sectors have continued to affect adversely the availability of credit to shipping industry participants, creating opportunities for well-capitalized companies with committed available financing.”

Navios Acquisition will pay $457.7m for the 13 ships and will have to find $81m more to exercise options for the additional two LR1s.

It will use $123.4m of its existing cash to fund the deal, with the remainder covered by debt financing.

At the same time Navios Maritime will grab a $45m chunk of Navios Acquisition’s common stock, with Frangou taking a further $15m.

The statement does not identify the seller of the tankers or the yard at which they are being built.

The first two LR1 tankers, costing $43.5m each, will be delivered next month with a further two 75,000-dwt vessels to follow at the end of 2011. Each has a price tag of $40m.

Six MR2 tankers, which vary in price from $33.6m to $32.9m, will be delivered between the end of 2011 and the close of 2012. Completing the original set of 13, Navios says the two 25,000-dwt chemical tankers, for delivery later this year, are valued at $28.7m each.

Navios Acquisition was launched in 2008 a couple of months before the collapse of Lehman Bros. It raised $220m from a New York listing, which had to be spent by 30 June or returned to investors.

Printable version Newsletter sign up