DHT Holdings could look for buyers for its older VLCCs in the months ahead, chief executive Svein Moxnes Harfjeld acknowledged on Wednesday.
The New York-listed tanker owner’s boss told analysts that he would not rule out charter opportunities for the vessels, but he said DHT could elect to sell some of them within the next year.
“These older ships — they are in technically very, very good condition. They have hardly any debt [and] very low book value, so in a way they would sort of contribute meaningfully if they were to be sold at some point,” he said after the company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.
Harfjeld’s comments came after Evercore ISI analyst Jonathan Chappell noted that DHT executives twice mentioned the lower charter rates that VLCCs built 15 or more years ago were earning compared to their more modern cousins.
Chappell asked whether the VLCC specialist could cash in the older ships and use them to help fund the newbuildings that the company has on order.
Harfjeld said the four newbuildings’ delivery dates in the first half of 2026 will come as the older vessels near 20 years of age, which could lead DHT to sell.
The proceeds could be used to help fund the orderbook, but he said it could be used in other ways.
“It’s part of our plan, but it has to be the right opportunity, and there could also be other good opportunities to charter out these ships,” he said.
“So let’s see what makes more sense when the decision time is up.”
DHT, whose CEO is based in Monaco, owns 24 VLCCs.
Four of them are more than 15 years old, and VesselsValue predicts that they are worth between $44.1m and $46.2m each.
But the three older ships in the spot market are earning less than newer vessels.
In the third quarter, DHT’s average spot charter earnings were $43,700 per day per vessel but ships younger than 15 years old fetched $47,600 per day on average, according to the company’s earnings report.
Harfjeld said that in a market soft patch, the older ships suffer more, which happened during the low points of the last quarter.
“But keep in mind also that this summer, we fixed out one of these older ships for a one-year time charter at $49,500 per day,” he said.
“And at that point, the freight market was a bit more balanced. So I certainly would not rule out good freight opportunities for these ships.”
