Tanker player Euronav is reported selling its second ageing suezmax this year, possibly to the same interests who bought the first one.

Greece’s World Carrier Corp is tipped to have picked up the 160,000-dwt Cap Diamant (built 2001) for $21m, UK-based brokers said on 9 April.

Other market sources suggested earlier in the week that West African buyers were behind the deal for the Hyundai Heavy Industries-built ship.

The two pieces of information are not necessarily contradictory. World Carrier Corp is known to be active in Africa, providing offshore services in the Gulf of Guinea. Its 275,000-dwt VLCC Ailsa Craig I (built 1990) has been serving as a floating storage and offloading unit at the Ima and Okoro oilfields off Nigeria.

Euronav has been trading the Cap Diamant for 15 years. Absence of any formal announcement that it has agreed to sell the vessel means Euronav has nothing to say on the matter, an official told TradeWinds when asked to comment.

Managers at World Carrier Corp were not available by phone and did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment by the time of writing.

World Carrier Corp emerged in February as manager of another Euronav suezmax, the 150,000-dwt Finesse (built 2003). Euronav had earlier that month publicly announced it sold the ship for $21.8m to interests that remained undisclosed.

Euronav may have other suezmax deals in store, which would be more of the asset-playing kind.

In November last year the company announced it provided financing to enter 50%-50% joint ventures with Ridgebury Tankers and Tufton Oceanic, each of which acquired a 14-year old suezmax: the 159,200-dwt Cape Bari (renamed Bari, built 2005) and its sistership Cape Bastia (renamed Bastia).

Each was bought for about $20m and is currently worth $25m, according to VesselsValue. Both are circulating for sale, Athens-based brokers reported 27 March.