Hoegh Autoliners through its subsidiary Hoegh Autoliners Shipping AS, declared an option pursuant to a certain bareboat charter party to purchase the vessel Hoegh Tracer for a purchase price of USD 53,200,000 from Ocean Yield. The average market value of the vessel estimated by three different brokers was USD 82 million by the end of Q2 and different financing options for the vessel are being evaluated.
Hoegh Tracer was built in 2016 with a capacity of 8,500 CEU. The vessel has been on bareboat charter to Hoegh Autoliners upon delivery from yard. The ownership of the vessel will be transferred to the Company during Q1 2023, and the vessel will continue to serve in Hoegh Autoliners’ deep sea network. The transaction will reduce the cash capacity cost for the vessel, allowing the Company to realise the additional value gains from lease options and to have better capacity cost control in an overheated charter market.
One of the sister vessels to Hoegh Tracer, Hoegh Trapper, is on a similar lease from Ocean Yield. Hoegh Autoliners has the option to purchase also this vessel with exercise date in December this year for delivery in June 2023. A decision on whether to exercise also this option will be taken closer to the exercise date.
Andreas Enger, CEO of Hoegh Autoliners, says: “The Hoegh Tracer has served us well and sailed the Oceans transporting our customers’ important cargo since she was built in 2016. As one of six Horizon class vessels in our fleet, she is one of the largest and most environmentally friendly PCTC out there and therefore very important for our ambitious path to a zero emissions future by 2040. Exercising the option for Hoegh Tracer reinforces our commitment to a sustainable future for deep sea shipping and demonstrates our commitment to continue to manage our capacity cost.”