Troubled Hermitage Offshore has sold its two anchor handling tug supply vessels.

The New York-listed offshore vessel owner — which is negotiating with creditors as its future remains in doubt — announced the sale to an unnamed buyer on Tuesday.

Its board of directors unanimously approved the sale to the unrelated purchaser.

The move sees the 2,548-dwt Hermitage Brilliance and Hermitage Baron (both built 2009) change hands.

It also releases Scorpio Group-backed Hermitage from its obligations under a $9m loan from DVB Bank.

Hermitage will take a $4m loss on the sale.

Ship valuation service VesselsValue pegs the Hermitage Baron as worth $3.55m and the Hermitage Brilliance at $3.53m.

In June, alongside its first-quarter earnings, Hermitage said there was "substantial doubt" the company could continue as a going concern, given the oil price collapse sending the offshore sector into a tailspin for the second time in a decade.

It posted a $6.8m loss at the time.

On 9 July, it announced a forbearance agreement with DNB Bank and SEB, in which the banks agreed not to exercise any of their rights under the loan agreements until the end of the month.

On 3 August, the company announced that agreement had been extended until 10 August.

The company said it had retained Parella Weinberg Partners and Snapdragon Advisory as financial advisors and Proskauer Rose as legal counsel as it explores options.

In early trading on Tuesday, Hermitage shares were up less than a cent to $0.79.

With the sale, the company owns 21 ships, 10 platform supply vessels and 11 crewboats.