Greek tanker company European Navigation has been one of the most consistent demolition sellers of ageing tankers in recent months, managing to offload all of its oldest vessels amid soaring scrap prices.
The Athens-based outfit has gradually sold six tankers, all of them built in 2001, since April. The ships are understood to have fetched at least $530 per ldt.
The last vessel in that group to go was the 44,800-dwt Elka Eleftheria, an MR product tanker that London-based brokers reported to have been sold to Pakistani interests.
Managers at European Navigation did not respond to a request for comment and brokers did not report a price for the deal. According to vessel tracking data, the Elka Eleftheria arrived off Karachi on Sunday.
Analysts at Best Oasis, a cash buyer of ships for demolition, said tankers fetch about $585 per ldt in Pakistan amid “active interest” by end-buyers in the country.
European Navigation is said to have even earned an even higher $590 per ldt, or $6m, by selling the sistership Elka Angelique (built 2001) last month.
European Navigation was founded by the Karnessis family in 1979. The sale of its oldest six vessels leaves the company with 13 tankers under the European Product Carriers brand.
It is not known whether European Navigation intends to continue its scrapping campaign by selling for demolition its next oldest ships. If it does, the most likely candidates would be the 44,500-dwt Elka Hercules and 45,500-dwt Elka Bene (both built 2002).
MR and handysize tankers have been the driving force in brisk scrapping activity for oil carriers. According to Seasure, 32 such ships have been sold for demolition so far this year, compared with nine in the corresponding period of 2020.
In terms of tonnage, the volume of scrapped MR and handysize tankers more than tripled to 2m dwt since the beginning of the year, according to Clarksons. Tankers overall represent nearly half of the entire ship tonnage sold for scrap in that period.
This has gone hand in hand with disappointing freight rates for tankers and soaring demolition prices, which occasionally pierced through the $600-per-ldt mark.
