CIT Maritime Finance provided a $32 million senior secured credit facility to Norstar Tankers to acquire two long range (LR1) product tankers. Financing was provided by CIT Bank. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Evolving refinery dynamics favor product tankers, as U.S., Middle Eastern and Indian refinery capacity has increased, and European refinery capacity, burdened by higher costs, continues to decline,” said Chris Bonehill, principal at Norstar Shipping Group. “Thanks to their deep knowledge of the maritime sector, CIT understood the impact of these trends and quickly arranged a flexible financial solution that allowed us to seize the opportunities we saw in the market. We look forward to working with CIT again.”

“Norstar Shipping is an experienced technical and commercial manager, that is well connected within the maritime industry and has strong existing relationships with cargo providers and charterers,” said Svein Engh, group head and managing director of CIT Maritime Finance. “We are pleased to establish a relationship with Norstar and are glad we were able to bring our maritime finance expertise to bear to help them build their tanker fleet.”