German shipping player Dr Peters Group is left with just two tankers after selling an 18-year old suezmax duo to NGM Energy, a Moundreas family company.
European market sources said the 150,000-dwt sisterships DS Symphony and DS Melody (both built 2001) changed hands at close to $12m each.
The vessels, built at Sasebo Heavy Industries, were among a group of tankers redelivered to Dr Peters about two years ago by John Fredriksen’s Frontline, which had them on long-term charters.
Officials at Dr Peters had not responded to a request for comment by press time. NGM managers declined to comment.
Dr Peters, an investment management company with wide-ranging interests from real estate to aircraft, has been aggressively reducing its exposure to tankers since David Landgrebe was appointed as its new head of shipping in August.
The company sold three VLCCs since October, raising about $135m in the process. The German group’s sale campaign is nearing the end of the line.
Its Hamburg-based tanker arm DS Tankers is left with two ships – the 298,600-dwt DS Commodore (built 2000) and the 70,400-dwt DS Promoter (built 2002).
The DS Promoter is the last ship left in Heidmar’s Star Tankers panamax pool, according to VesselsValue.
Star Tankers, formerly a cornerstone of the US-based pool operator, has almost disappeared and no longer even features on Heidmar’s website.
The Dr Peters group was founded in the 1960s. According to its website, it entered the shipping business in 1990 and has financed 88 vessels since — nearly half of them tankers.
Its dry bulk unit DS Schiffahrt, which is also based in Hamburg, lists one capesize ship and two feeder containerships on its website.
Keen buyers
The Moundreas family have been keen buyers of Dr Peters tanker tonnage.
As recently as in October last year, Piraeus-based NGM Energy acquired from DS Tankers the 299,000-dwt DS Vida (renamed Vida, built 2003), reportedly for $22.8m.
Back in 2013, Dr Peters supplied NGM Energy with the 299,000-dwt DS Victory (built 2001). Renamed renamed Victory I, it is the second VLCC the Greek company ever bought.
Suezmaxes have not featured among the priorities of NGM Energy so far.
Until recently, the company had just two such ships in the Moundreas fleet of nearly 30 tankers and bulkers -- both built in South Korea about 20 years ago.
Moundreas, however, is now making moves to renew and expand its suezmax tonnage.
Last month, it disposed of the 159,200-dwt La Mer (built 1998), which was sold to unidentified buyers for about $11.1m, according to Greek brokers.
Late last year it inked a suezmax at New Times Shipbuilding in China, including an optional vessel.
This was the company’s first tanker order since 2007.
