Overview
- Hahn & Co. announced Thursday that SK Shipping will receive 16 LNG carriers and their long-term contracts in exchange for 12 tankers, related contracts and about $300 million in cash.
- If approved, the deal would leave SK Shipping operating 32 LNG carriers and 14 LPG vessels, a fleet size Hahn & Co. says ranks it among the world's top three LNG carrier operators and will be rebranded as K-LNG.
- H-Line Shipping will pivot to a tanker and dry-bulk focus after the swap, adding the 12 tankers and their long-term contracts to strengthen its crude and commodity transport business.
- The transaction is subject to customer and lender approvals and Hahn & Co. projects pro forma assets of roughly 11 trillion won for SK Shipping and 5 trillion won for H-Line once the swap closes.
- The move builds on Hahn & Co.'s longer-term strategy of shifting ships into long-term contracts and reflects forecasts of rising LNG demand and South Korean policy goals to increase domestic carriage of key energy imports.