Norwegian shipowner Ocean Yield has agreed to acquire four very large crude carriers (VLCCs) with 15-year bareboat charters.

All four vessels are chartered to companies owned and guaranteed by Okeanis Marine Holdings, and sub-chartered to the shipping arm of a large industrial conglomerate for a period of 5 years.

The company said that the gross purchase price is USD 83.75 million per VLCC and the net cash purchase price is USD 74.25 million after a seller’s credit of USD 9.50 million.

“The investment is done at historically low asset values and will increase our EBITDA charter backlog by about 16% to USD 3.4 billion as per today,” Lars Solbakken, Ocean Yield’s Chief Executive Officer, said.

The ships are scheduled for delivery by South Korean yard, Hyundai Heavy Industries, in Q2-Q3 2019. Okeanis Marine Holdings will have certain options to acquire the VLCCs during the charter period, with the first purchase option exercisable after seven years.