It booked a gain of $3.3m versus $1.2m in the corresponding period.

The figure came despite a bigger foreign exchange loss of $2.3m compared to $0.8m in 2013.

All of AMSC’s vessels are on bareboat charter to Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG), which recently exited Chapter 11.

The market has been rife with rumours of the two companies merging to create a Jones Act ship master limited partnership (MLP).

AMSC’s