Gener8 Maritime is on the verge of selling one of its oldest VLCCs in a deal that will finally see Winson Shipping enter the sector.
Peter Georgiopoulos-led Gener8 is understood to be in the process of offloading the 312,000-dwt Genmar Vision (built 2001) to the Taiwanese owner, sources say. Others point to the sister Genmar Victory as the ship being sold.
A price of $28m is being placed on the deal, compared with the $27.25m VesselsValue has against the tankers.
Brokers note that while VLCC prices have been on the slide over the summer, this transaction seems relatively firm compared with contemporary deals.
Tanker experts note the ships were built for trade in the Delaware River, with twin engines and wider beam resulting in higher fuel consumption compared to a standard VLCC. This dictates that they would be priced at a discount to the market, sources say.
Gener8 declined to comment when contacted by TradeWinds today.
Winson has been scouting out its debut VLCC purchase this year and was in the past few weeks linked to the 299,300-dwt BW Ulan (built 2000).
Sources suggest the owner was unwilling to match the $30m BW Group was seeking for the tanker.
Disposal of older tonnage makes sense for Gener8 at a time when it is taking delivery of a vast orderbook.
Gener8 has taken delivery of six VLCCs this year, with four more to come in August and September, according to Robert Perri of Axia Capital.
Perri notes the company could soon switch to cash distribution and pay a debut dividend, which he suggests will be “small-ish”, by the end of this year.
