Philip Embiricos-controlled Aeolos Management has returned to the sale-and-purchase market with the acquisition of an 11-year-old VLCC from fellow Greek owner Enesel Shipping.
UK-based shipbrokers reported that the company bought the 319,000-dwt Spyros (built 2007) for $34.6m, which is in line with expectations.
TradeWinds reported last week that Andonis and Filippos Lemos-fronted Enesel had sold the ship to another Greek owner, but the buyer's identity was not known at the time.
The deal appears to be part of a fleet renewal play, as brokers report that Aeolos has sold the 298,000-dwt Kymolos (built 1998) in an "as is" deal in the United Arab Emirates for $429 per ldt, or $18.3m. The Greek owner had purchased the DSME-built ship from Euronav for $55.5m in 2010, when it was the TI Creation.
Neither Enesel nor Aeolos responded to requests for comment.
Aeolos has done little in the sale-and-purchase market over the past few years. It last bought a tanker in the secondhand market in May 2013 when it landed the 281,000-dwt tanker Bandaisan (built 2000) from MOL of Japan for $19.8m and renamed it Kalamos.
Athens-based Aeolos is listed with a fleet of seven trading tankers at an average age of 15 years. In December last year, it signed up for a 318,000-dwt VLCC at DSME for delivery in 2020 — and this tanker is believed to be costing $84m.
