Navigator Holdings has entered into financing agreements to fund the construction and delivery of two newbuild gas carriers currently being built in China by Jiangnan Shipyard Group and China Shipbuilding Trading.
The vessels, which were ordered under contracts signed on November 20, 2024, are expected to be delivered in 2027.
To cover the construction phase, a subsidiary of the company secured a pre-delivery term loan of up to $164.64 million from the Tokyo branch of BNP Paribas. This pre-delivery facility will fund up to 80 per cent of the payments due to the shipyard prior to the delivery of the vessels.
Upon delivery of the vessels, the initial bridge facility will transition into a $205.8 million long-term sale and leaseback arrangement under a Japanese operating lease with call option.
Under the terms of this transaction, which represents the first of its kind for Navigator Holdings, the vessels will be sold to special purpose lessor owners and bareboat chartered back to the subsidiaries Navigator Polaris and Navigator Proxima.
The company will retain complete responsibility for the commercial and technical operations of the vessels, including maintenance, crewing, management, and insurance.
It also holds purchase options under the bareboat charters, with the final option occurring eight and a half years after the delivery of each vessel.
