CIT Group announced that CIT Maritime Finance provided a $83.7 million senior secured credit facility to PST Tankers LLC, to finance the acquisition of a fleet of eight product tankers managed by Product Shipping & Trading S.A., a company controlled by Pappas family interests. The fleet includes two Handysize (MRs) and six Long Range (LR1s) tankers originally belonging to Omega Navigation.

Financing was provided by CIT Bank, the U.S. commercial bank subsidiary of CIT. The transaction has a five-year term; additional terms were not disclosed.

“This transaction represents our first financing of a fleet of modern product tankers acquired in the secondary market,” said Svein Engh, Managing Director and Group Head of CIT Maritime Finance. “We’re proud to play a role in PST Tankers’ fleet build-up and we look forward to supporting the joint venture and its shareholders further in the future.”

Hamish Norton, Chief Financial Officer of PST Tankers, said, “CIT Maritime Finance demonstrated a deep understanding of our business and the industry in executing a complex financing within a tight schedule. We appreciate their full support in this very strategically important transaction for PST Tankers.”