Saudi Arabia’s Bahri is reported to be shedding more older tankers, this time from its joint venture with Saudi Arabia Basic Industries Corp (SABIC).
European brokers list two MR chemical and product vessels offloaded by Bahri Chemicals, which is 80% owned by state-controlled Bahri and 20% by chemicals maker SABIC.
The 46,300-dwt NCC Najd and NCC Hijaz (both built 2005) have fetched $17m each.
The price is some way below market valuations.
VesselsValue has the ships as worth close to $23m, up from $20m a year ago.
The buyer is not known.
Bahri Chemicals has 35 tankers, mostly MRs but also a VLCC and an LR1.
The NCC Najd and NCC Hijaz have been owned by the venture since delivery from Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea.
Bahri does not comment on sale-and-purchase transactions.
In September, Bahri was reported to have swooped for three modern LR2 tankers in the period charter market.
Brokers said the 120,000-dwt Proteus Elsie (built 2023) was fixed out by China’s Bank of Communications Financial for two years at $41,000 per day.
And Kuwait’s AMPTC has chartered out its 114,000-dwt newbuilding pair Ocean Blue (built 2023) and Saqr, due in February 2024.
Bahri paid the same rate for these ships over the same term.
The AMPTC duo came with one-year options.
Another VLCC offloaded
The company was not known to have LR2s on charter.
And in June, Bahri reportedly sold off another of its oldest VLCCs in a lucrative secondhand market.
Brokers said the 316,000-dwt Lulu (built 2003) went for $42.5m.
The ship is now listed in the fleet of VR Marine Management of Singapore, as the Mega.
The VLCC had been owned by the group since delivery.
The tanker was among Bahri’s older ships, but two more of its vessels were built in 2002 and another in 2001.
Bahri sold four VLCCS of a similar vintage in 2022.
In April this year, unknown interests based in the United Arab Emirates swooped on Bahri’s 49,000-dwt MR Bahri Iris (built 2005), with brokers putting a $17m price tag on the deal.
And the Saudi state company also reportedly offloaded the sister ship Bahri Jasmine (built 2005) as well, this time at a higher price of $18.3m.
