Eastern Pacific Shipping has locked a suezmax into a more than two-year charter with US-based Koch Industries.

European brokers said the Idan Ofer-controlled Singapore shipowner signed a charter deal with US conglomerate Koch for the 164,000-dwt Nobleway (built 2010).

Koch will pay $35,000 per day over the 27-month charter, which equates to total revenue of nearly $38m for Eastern Pacific.

Koch, which is an active charterer of tankers and bulkers, does not discuss individual deals, and Eastern Pacific did not respond to requests for comment.

Change of strategy

Eastern Pacific is regarded as a spot market-orientated player in the suezmax segment, and the Koch deal is seen as a departure from this employment strategy.

The charter rate for the deal is in line with assessments by Howe Robinson Partners for a one-year deal, which recently ratcheted down its estimate to $35,000 per day from $38,000 per day a week earlier.

In another suezmax deal, ST Shipping has chartered the 156,000-dwt tanker Cascade Spirit (built 2009) from Teekay Tankers, according to European brokers. The ship was fixed for a year, also at $35,000 per day.

The Nobleway's charter rate is likely profitable for the vessel, which has an operating cost of about $10,000 per day, according to an estimate by Maritime Strategies International.

Eastern Pacific bought the ship from Fred Olsen company First Olsen Tankers for $48.5m in March 2014, when it was named the Knock Clune.

Fleet numbers

The shipowner has a mixed fleet of 120 ships on the water and 30 newbuildings. Its tanker fleet consists of 29 ships and 10 newbuildings.

Eastern Pacific traditionally has focused on the aframax segment, a sector in which it has 17 ships and four newbuildings.

It has just six suezmaxes with an average age of four years, in addition to two 166,000-dwt tankers on order at China’s Guangzhou Shipyard International that are set for delivery in 2022. This deal includes options for two more, and the dual-fuel ships are believed to be costing $67m to $68m each.

Eric Martin contributed to this story.