600 Million for Polish Newbuildings

Polish Steamship Company (PSC), the bulk shipping arm of the state owned Polish shipping company, recently named the first two vessels of a newbuilding program in Denmark. The vessels, the Solidarity and the Armia Krajowa, are the first two ships of a series of six 41,000 grt bulk carriers being built at the Burmeister and Wain (B&W) shipyards in Denmark.

The whole newbuilding program has been financed using a complicated Anparter arrangement worked out by Difko, one Denmark’s leading tax based leasing companies. The first two ships are held by Difko LXVIII; the next three in the series will be owned by Difko LXIX; and the final one will be owned by Difko LXX. According to PSC president Mr. Micezyslaw Andruczk, the next three vessels are scheduled to be delivered this year, and the final one in the first quarter of 1992.

Difko LXVIII, which includes the Solidarity and the Armia Krajowa, is a complicated deal that provides investors with both direct cash returns and tax benefits from depreciation allowances. Despite the complexity of the deal, Difko president Mr. Geir Jansen told Marine Money that the “K/S fund was easy to sell to investors who realized the potential returns, and understood the non-cash benefits.” He pointed out, however, that due to the nature of the investment product, the project had little appeal to non-Danish residents.

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