Thai dry bulk owner Precious Shipping has arranged a Japanese operating lease with call option (JOLCO) transaction covering four of its vessels as it looks to refinance part of its fleet.

The Bangkok-listed company said the deal involves the handysize vessels the 2015-built Vipha Naree and the 2016-built Viyada Naree, along with the 2012-built supramaxes Baranee Naree and Daranee Naree.

Under the structure, the ships will be sold to special-purpose companies incorporated in the Marshall Islands set up specifically for the transaction and then bareboat chartered back to subsidiaries of Precious Shipping.

The financing package totals about $49.8m.The two handysize vessels will be chartered back for a period of five years and 10 months, while the supramax bulkers will operate under a bareboat charter lasting four years and 11 months.

According to the company, the ships will continue trading as part of its fleet under the Singapore flag and will be operated in the normal course of business.

The Khalid Hashim-led operator of around 40 bulkers said the transaction provides long-term financing while allowing the company to keep operational control of the vessels. The JOLCO structure also includes options that would allow Precious Shipping to repurchase the ships at pre-agreed dates during the charter period.