Germany’s Neu Seeschiffahrt is close to selling its last older VLOC for demolition, market sources told TradeWinds.
But the sources said that reports of a sale the 258,000-dwt Janice N (built 1995) for recycling in Pakistan are premature.
Brokers claimed that the ship, which is Neu’s only remaining VLOC built before 2000, had been sold for $370 per ldt, or $14.4m in total.
But the ship is only available for green recycling, so it is considered likely that the ship will end up in India.
The secretive German shipowner bought the vessel in 2008 as the single-hull tanker Diamond Hope and converted it into an ore carrier.
Neu has disposed of a number of large bulkers in recent years and is now listed with eight VLOCs in its fleet.
A price level of around $370 per ldt would indicate a considerable price increase for large bulkers.
But it would still be some way off the $400 per ldt, that TradeWinds earlier this week was reported for the 171,000-dwt bulker Parker (built 1996). Demolition brokers, however, have now said that this this vessel, controlled by Laredo Marine of Cyprus, has yet to be sold.
On the wet side, Altera Shuttle Tankers, the former Teekay Offshore, has sold the 105,000-dwt Navion Bergen (built 2000) for scrap to India in an off-market deal. The tanker is likely to have gone for close to $9m.
For nearly three years, the former Bergshav tanker has been on charter to Transpetro of Brazil.
