Philly Tankers Secures Charter Contracts for Two Newbuild Jones Act Product Tankers

File photo courtesy Aker Philadelphia Shipyard

Philly Tankers AS announced today that its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, Philly Tankers LLC, has entered into binding long-term time charter contracts with a domestic end-user for the two 50,000 dwt product tankers it has on order with Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (AKPS). The charters will commence after delivery of the vessels in 2016 and 2017.

“This is an important milestone for Philly Tankers and we are proud of the long-term partnership that the company has established with a reputable end-user,” said Kristian Rokke, Chairman of AKPS and Board member of Philly Tankers AS. “We continue to see interesting opportunities in the Jones Act tanker space, including potential strategic partnerships, and we´ll continue to pursue those opportunities as we look to grow Philly Tankers.”

Philly Tankers holds an option for two additional product tankers with deliveries in 2017, which the Company expects to declare, subject to raising the necessary equity capital, Aker Philadelphia said in a statement Thursday.

Philly Tankers was only recently established in June 2014 as a pure play tanker owner within the Jones Act market. The company is majority owned by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (54%), with American Shipping Company ASA and Apollo Global Management and other U.S. institutional investors holding minority stakes in the company. Philly Tankers is listed on the Norwegian OTC.

Its two LNG-ready 50,000 dwt tankers are based on the proven Hyundai Mipo Dockyard design and were ordered at a total contract price of USD $250 million.

The domestic “reputable end-user” in this case was not identified.

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