Diamond S Shipping has announced that it has completed the acquisition of 30 medium-range product tankers and related charters from Cido Shipping of Hong Kong, a firm headed by a Korean which has been hit by financial troubles of late.
The product tankers, built between 2007 and 2010, are under long-term charters with a number of global shipping companies, including A.P. Moeller, d'Amico, Hyundai Merchant Marine, Overseas Shipholding Group and ST Shipping. The tankers are being added to Diamond S' fleet of ten new buildings now under construction, with the first delivery scheduled for January 2012.
A group of institutional investors led by WL Ross & Co. and First Reserve Corporation, and including China Investment Corporation, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, Morgan Creek Capital Management and PPM America Capital Partners, have committed almost $1bn of equity capital to Diamond S. Diamond S has also arranged $1.075bn of debt financing from a consortium of banks led by Nordea Bank Finland and DnB Nor Bank ASA.
"With a powerful balance sheet and one of the youngest large fleets in the industry, Diamond S is uniquely positioned to be one of the world's leading crude and product ocean transportation companies," said Craig H. Stevenson, Jr., Chief Executive Officer of Diamond S. "We intend to take full advantage of increasing demand by major energy companies for environmentally secure, fuel-efficient vessels in the global fuel business," Stevenson added.
Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, Diamond S Shipping is a global energy-focused shipping company. Diamond S has one of the youngest fleets of tankers concentrating on suezmax and product carriers. The new buildings will be put in service over a 12-month period beginning in January 2012.