General Maritime Corporation Announces Agreement to Enter Seven VLCCs in Commercial Pool Managed by Heidmar Inc.
General Maritime Corporation announced today it has agreed to enter seven of its VLCCs into Seawolf Tankers, a commercial pool of VLCCs managed by Heidmar Inc., one of the world's leading commercial operators of tankers.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Genmar Vision, Genmar Zeus, and the Genmar Ulysses will begin trading in the pool within the next 30 days. In addition, the Genmar Hercules and Genmar Victory are expected to begin trading in the pool upon completion of their current time charters. The Genmar Poseidon and the Genmar Atlas will also enter the Seawolf Pool via period charters with Heidmar Inc.
Commercial pools are designed to provide for effective chartering and commercial management of similar vessels that are combined into a single fleet to improve customer service, increase vessel utilization and capture cost efficiencies.
John P. Tavlarios, President of General Maritime Corporation, commented, "We are pleased to be a founding member of the Seawolf Tankers pool. Seawolf Tankers complements our flexible fleet deployment strategy by enhancing our ability to maximize earnings while maintaining a level of stability in our results. The pool also provides the opportunity to realize economies of scale and to benefit from Heidmar's extensive global network. We remain committed to effectively managing General Maritime's assets through the tanker cycles and strengthening the Company's future prospects."
Timothy P. Brennan, President & CEO of Heidmar commented, "We are delighted to have General Maritime as a formative participant in Seawolf Tankers. We have great respect for General Maritime and look forward to working with them on the expansion of the Seawolf pool with other first-class vessel owners."
The Company stated that the two vessels on period charter to Heidmar will be chartered for 12-months at market related rates, subject to a floor of $15,000 per day and a profit share of 50/50 above $30,000 per day. The Company may withdraw any of its vessels from the pool after one year upon 90 days notice (with delivery to occur upon completion of any charter applicable at that time).
As previously disclosed, the Genmar Hercules is currently on a 12-month time charter to Trafigura at a rate of $35,500 per day, with earliest redelivery date of September 2011. There is an optional 12-month period available at the charterer's option at a rate of $40,000 per day. The optional period, if exercised, must be declared by Trafigura no later than 30-days from the redelivery date.
As also previously disclosed, the Genmar Victory is currently on a 24-month time charter to BP at a rate of $40,500 per day with earliest redelivery date of February 2012. There is an optional 12-month period available at the charterer's option at a rate of $40,000 per day with 50/50 profit sharing in that period. The optional period, if exercised, must be declared by BP around August 2011.
Source: PR Newswire