AET grows fleet through sale and lease-back arrangements 20 Nov 2006 | MISC Berhad AET - a subsidiary of MISC Berhad and one of the world's leading petroleum tanker specialists - successfully completed the sale and lease-back of 4 of its aframax tankers last week and signed a further deal to sell an additional vessel, also to be leased-back. On Tuesday 14 November, Eagle Centaurus, Eagle Auriga, Eagle Carina and Eagle Corona were sold to shipping funds administered by the Norwegian investment bank ABG Sundal Collier and immediately leased back on a 7 year bareboat charter in a deal worth more than USD165 million. Presiding over the arrangements were AET's Chairman and President / CEO of MISC Berhad. YBhg. Dato' Shamsul Azhar Abbas, and Magnus Drageset (Head of Corporate Finance, Shipping & Energy) and Geir Olav Fuglem (Head of Corporate Finance, Shiplease) both from ABG Sundal Collier In a separate deal signed on Friday 17 November, arrangements were entered into to enable MT Quasar to be sold to Polar Marine SA of Greece. Following the conclusion of the sale, the vessel will again be leased-back on a 3 year time charter to service Petronas, a key AET customer and major shareholder of MISC Berhad. This deal is worth over USD 20 million. Explaining why AET had decided to take these steps, CEO Amir Hamzah Azizan, said: "AET is committed to operating a modern fleet of tankers. Whilst the asset price of our vessels remains high, it makes perfect sense for us to realise some of that capital through sale and lease-back arrangements such as these. It allows us to continue operating these tankers whilst re-investing the capital released in newer tonnage". He went on to say: "Our overarching strategy is to continue to grow our fleet and renew our vessels regularly as demonstrated by our recent order placed with Tsuneishi Corporation for up to 4 new aframax vessels to be delivered in 2009 and 2010. We are already a leading player in the aframax market and a growing presence in the VLCC sector. Through arrangements such as these, and through continuing to establish partnerships on a global scale, AET will soon be the world's leading provider of ocean transportation for petroleum". Although the vessels involved in these arrangement are between 13 and 17 years old their condition, on survey, was reported as excellent which clearly demonstrates AET's commitment to quality and safety. These agreements are the first of their kind undertaken by AET.