Denmark's Norden has confirmed the acquisition of two modern MR tankers from the US.
The company had been linked by brokers to a deal for Diamond S Shipping's 50,000-dwt Alpine Minute and Alpine Mystery (both built 2009) for nearly $34m last week.
Norden said on Tuesday it had bought two 50,000-dwt South Korean-constructed ships built in 2009 in a move that expands its fleet "ahead of the expected market improvement towards 2020."
The two newcomers will join in December under the names Nord Minute and Nord Magic.
This suggests a deal for Alpine Minute and another sistership Alpine Magic, rather than Alpine Mystery.
Norden has now added four MRs this year, bringing the total fleet to 58 ships, including chartered vessels.
Better times ahead
CEO Jan Rindbo said: “While product tanker market conditions have suffered from oversupply and weak demand this year, we expect an improvement towards 2020.
"Recently, the crude tanker market has recovered strongly, oil price has declined to a 12-month low and oil inventories have been drawn significantly.
"This points to a recovery in demand for product tankers and improving market conditions. We therefore believe this purchase is a good opportunity to take advantage of the relatively low prices on tonnage now, to increase the capacity.”
This summer Norden also bought a pair of tankers from Kirk Kapital as the Danish company wound down its own involvement in shipowning.
Norden’s fleet was valued at $839m at the end of the third quarter, of which $422m was contributed by its tanker stable.
Diamond S, which was the first shipowning company backed by Wilbur Ross, today has a fleet of 45 ships. VesselsValue says the fleet is worth $1.09bn.
