On June 29, 2018, TOP Ships entered into a sale and leaseback agreement with Cargill Ocean Transportation for a vessel currently under construction at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard, South Korea.
Following the sale, TOP Ships will bareboat charter back the vessel and immediately put it on a five-year time charter with Cargill Ocean Transportation.
As part of this transaction, the company has continuous options to buy back the vessel during the whole five-year sale and leaseback period at the end of which it has to buy it back.
The gross proceeds from the sale amount is US$32.4 million, which is the total amount that remains to be paid for the specific vessel.
The revenue backlog expected to be generated by the time charter fixture is about US$27.6 million.
Consummation of the deal is expected to take place on the vessel's delivery date currently planned for January 2019.