One of two Coastal Oil handysize product tankers that failed to sell at auction in April will be back on the auction block at the end of this month.
The Sheriff of Singapore’s office will conduct another auction for the 24,200-dwt Babylon (built 2017) on 27 May via a sealed tender process, with offers on the ship due in at 3pm on the day.
The Babylon, together with identical sistership Atalanta (built 2015), attracted only a handful of offers when the pair came under the hammer last month. None were sufficiently high enough to meet the minimum reserve price set by the High Court of Singapore, which does not reveal the figure prior to the auction taking place.
The lack of interest came as a surprise to some sale-and-purchase brokers as both are modern ships in good condition, and of a size popular with regional Asian tanker owners.
Would-be potential buyers in the tanker sector told TradeWinds that the lack of interest was because the ships were designed to operate in coastal waters and restricted waterways and, as such, each is fitted with twin screws and two engines to increase their manoeuvrability.
“It is fine if you want to use them in their designed trade, but two engines increase your maintenance costs and your fuel bills,” said a senior executive at a Singapore-based product tanker operator who did not wish to be named.
Singapore’s DBS Bank arrested both ships — Coastal Oil's largest tankers — in January against mortgage claims of about $18m in total. The arrests took place shortly after the fuel trader filed for voluntary liquidation.
