Valloeby Shipping of Malta looks to have achieved very firm prices for three small chemical/product tankers sold in an en-bloc deal.
European brokers said three carriers of 8,000 dwt have gone for anywhere up to $25.4m combined.
The Turkish-built ST Sara and VS Salome (both built 2007) fetched $8.3m each, while the 7,900-dwt VS Salma (built 2008) went for $8.8m.
The buyer remains unknown.
All three vessels were acquired from Sea Tankers of France in 2020.
Low-profile Valloeby currently owns 24 tankers, comprising small clean vessels as well as five LR1s and five MR1s.
They operate in the Hafnia and Penfield pools.
VesselsValue assesses the ST Sara as worth $5.7m, with the VS Salome at $6m and the VS Salma at $6.3m.
Valloeby was created in 2015 for the primary purpose of investing in, operating and maximising the value of shipping assets.
“Our investment philosophy differs from the traditional approach of most existing market players; we seek to use innovative structures to create pure asset investments supported by arms-length management contracts with pre-existing operators on attractive terms,” its website says.
Capital flight in shipping
The company kicked off its operations by acquiring a fleet of eight chemical tankers, following that up with investments in four handysize tankers.
“The flight of equity capital and debt financing from the maritime industry has created challenges for many established shipping companies, who now face liquidity issues,” the company said.
It added that this “provides ongoing opportunities for Valloeby ... to provide fresh capital in order to help restructure those companies and to ensure that their vessels remain with first-class managers”.
Valloeby has not responded to a request for comment on the sales.
In December last year, Canadian owner Algoma Central Corp acquired two secondhand product tankers from Valloeby — the 18,894-dwt sisterships Chantaco and Chiberta (both built 2007) — to replace two older vessels trading on the Great Lakes.
The tankers were both flagged in Malta and were built by RMK Marine of Turkey.
