Pacific Basin Shipping (Pacific Basin) has signed an agreement to sell all six of its roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels to Atlantica SPA di Navigazione (Atlantica) for €153m.
The Hong Kong-based dry bulk operator revealed a plan in June 2012 to dispose of the assets after registering $190m losses on its RoRo division.
Pacific Basin recorded a loss of $196m during the first half of 2012 compared to the $3m profit it registered in the corresponding period in 2011.
Pacific Basin’s profit was mainly driven by losses in the RoRo segment, which had been affected by severe weakness in Europe, the company said.
Under the deal, Atlantica will buy at least one vessel by the end of each of the six month periods from 30 June 2013 and to 31 December 2015.
The six Ro-Ro vessels include the 2011-built Strait of Magellan, the 2012-built Bering Strait, the 2010-built Strait of Dover, the 2010-built Strait of Gibraltar, the 2009-built Humber Viking, and Strait of Messina, built in 2011.
Both companies have also entered into bareboat charter agreements under which Atlantica will charter the six vessels until they are delivered into its ownership.
The company expects to charter two of the six vessels by 31 October 2012; another two charters are expected to commence by 31 January 2013, while the remaining two are scheduled to be chartered around the end of the first quarter of 2013.
According to Pacific Basin, the sale of its six vessels and the deal to secure full employment for the vessels under the bareboat charter fall under the company’s change in RoRo strategy.
Following its exit from the RoRo sector, Pacific Basin intends to concentrate more on its core dry bulk and towage businesses.
Pacific Basin currently operates in three maritime sectors including Pacific Basin Dry Bulk, PB Towage and PB RoRo, and has a fleet of over 230 vessels including newbuildings on order.
