Oman Shipping Company raises $227m for 10 tankers

Government-owned Oman Shipping Company has raised $227m to finance the purchase of 10 medium range tankers.

The craft, built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries, will be chartered by Shell Tankers Singapore for seven years.

Societe Generale acted as sole arranger and underwriter for the deal, which involved export credit agency and commercial financing, according to a report yesterday by Oman News Agency.

Seven of the 10 vessels were covered under a 12-year facility with Korean export credit agency K-Sure, while the remaining three were financed under a seven-year mortgage loan.

“We are very pleased with the successful close of this landmark transaction, particularly in the current environment, a testimony to our current strategy and its robustness. Beyond the importance for OSC, this deal perfectly meets our company’s objectives in terms of diversification of funding sources,” said Tarik al-Junaidi, CEO of Oman Shipping Company.

Societe Generale, Crédit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, the Korea Development Bank and ABN Amro acted as mandated lead arrangers.