A Frontline product tanker that was the target of a high-profile attack in June has now secured a $14.4m charter deal in a hot market for period contracts.
The John Fredriksen-controlled shipowner's 110,000-dwt LR2 tanker Front Altair (built 2016) has been chartered for 12 months to trader Vitol at $40,000 per day, brokers said.
TradeWinds is told that Vitol has options to use the tanker for storage or for dirty trading.
The rate looks strong, given that Norwegian broker Fearnleys said the one-year rate for a LR2 tanker is $30,000 per day.
TradeWinds reported earlier today that Frontline Management chief executive Robert Hvide Macleod said that opportunities for floating storage are on the rise after the oil market plunged to negative US prices.
“The oil price is in super-contango, demand is under distress and the world is running out of land based storage
Asked about reports of the Front Altair charter deal, Frontline chief executive Robert Hvide Macleod would only point to the market outlook in the company's fourth-quarter earnings report.
The was after it passed through the Strait of Hormuz in an attack that the US blamed on Iran.
As TradeWinds reported in March, the company's fourth-quarter report showed that repairs were completed on the ship in November 2019.
Excluding amounts paid directly by its insurers, the total cost of repairs and related services for Frontline was $2.3m.
Total costs are expected to be recovered under its insurance policies. The vessel has protection and indemnity cover through Norway's Gard.
In addition, the company has recovered $3.7m under its loss of hire insurance.
Eric Martin and Max Tingyao Lin contributed to this report.
