Expanding Abu Dhabi shipowner Adnoc Logistics & Services (Adnoc L&S) is splashing out more than $300m on six LR2 tanker resales in a deal with Maersk Tankers.
Brokers said Adnoc L&S will pay about $53m each for the newbuildings, which were originally contracted five years ago by Maersk Tankers at China's Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co as part of a 10-ship order.
The shipowning arm of state-owned energy company Adnoc is understood to be seeking board approval for the deal.
An Adnoc L&S spokeswoman said the company could not comment on the reports.
Sale confirmation
Maersk Tankers announced on Thursday that it had signed an agreement on behalf of Maersk Product Tankers for the sale of six LR2 product tankers in an en-bloc transaction.
The company did not name the purchaser or give price details.
It said one of the vessels is 2020-built with remaining five being newbuildings delivered or scheduled for handover this year.
The company said the deal is "in line with Maersk Product Tankers’ asset strategy of continually adjusting the fleet size and composition to generate financial returns for investors and keeping exposure in line with market developments."
Attractive opportunities
Danish owner Maersk Tankers, which is controlled by AP Moller Holding and Mitsui & Co, originally negotiated its fleet renewal plans on LR2 tankers with Dalian in 2016, signing the first contracts a year later.
At the time, the 115,000-dwt ships were said to be priced at between $41m and $44m each and negotiated under a structure that locked in the pricing on any options.
In 2018, Maersk Tankers — which had by that point spun off its shipowning business under Maersk Product Tankers — signed up to an additional six vessels, and expanded the order a year later with a further four ships. These vessels were originally due for delivery between 2020 and 2022.
Last June, Maersk Tankers chief executive Christian Ingerslev spoke to TradeWinds about the potential for asset play by buying cheap and selling “when there are attractive opportunities”.
At the time, brokers were flagging up the remaining 10 Dalian-built LR2 newbuildings as potential sales candidates.
According to Clarksons Shipping Intelligence Network, seven remain on order at the yard for delivery dates ranging from this month to March 2022.
Ship-hungry buyer
If confirmed at these prices, Maersk Tankers would make healthy profits of $10m-plus on the sale of each ship.
Adnoc L&S requested offers on VLCC and LR2 tanker newbuildings last August.
It has since bought eight VLCCs — through a mix of newbuilding orders and deals for existing and under-construction vessels.
But the company was later said to have temporised on its LR2 hunt after assessing offers from yards in China and South Korea.
Instead, it opted to float a tender to acquire four existing vessels or yard resales.
Adnoc L&S has been expanding rapidly in the past nine months.
Aside from the VLCC buys, two of which were confirmed on Tuesday, it has branched out into VLGC ownership, has been growing its bulk carrier interests with secondhand buys and has kicked off the process of trying to renew its LNG carrier fleet.
This article has been updated since it was first published with a statement from Maersk Tankers on the ship sales.
