Dorian LPG, an owner and operator of modern gas carriers, has sold its second-oldest vessel in a deal that highlights intense interest for such tonnage in Asia.
The New York-listed company has agreed to dispose of the 82,000-cbm Captain Nicholas ML (built 2008) for $47m to unidentified Indian interests, Athens brokers reported on 18 January.
Managers at Stamford-based Dorian declined to comment.
Analysts following the company had already said earlier this month that they expected it to explore a sale of the Captain Nicholas ML as well of the Captain John NP, a one-year-older sistership.
These are the oldest of the 23 ships in Dorian's managed fleet. Both were refinanced in 2018 in Japanese sale-and-leaseback deals that included an option for Dorian to buy them back at any time after two years.
The Captain Nicholas ML fetched $50.8m at the time.
According to Dorian filings, the vessel has been operating in its Helios Pool since and was last on a time charter-out to a third party that was due to expire late last year.
Dorian has been on a campaign to renew its fleet and reward shareholders lately. In 2021, it sold its then oldest vessel, the 82,000-cbm Captain Markos NL (built 2006), and ordered a dual-fuel, 84,000-cbm newbuilding at Kawasaki Heavy Industries.
Earlier in January, Dorian declared a special dividend of $1 per share, or $40.1m, on top of a $1-per-share payout and $120m of stock buybacks it announced throughout 2021.
Its efforts to create additional cash for shareholders through the sale of older ships are underpinned by a freight rate revival that has created strong buying interest for such vessels in Asia.
Passage to India
The Captain Markos NL, the ship Dorian sold last year, was picked up by Seven Islands Shipping of India as part of its move into the LPG sector and is now trading as Pine Gas.
More such sale-and-purchase transactions have emerged in recent weeks, during which analysts expressed the opinion that VLGC rates are set fairly at levels above $50,000 per day on the back of higher LPG production growth.
"There's a lot of buying interest from India and Indonesia," one market insider told TradeWinds.
In one deal, Avance Gas Holding said on 13 January it has agreed to sell the 83,700-cbm Thetis Glory (built 2008) to undisclosed buyers, with delivery in February.
Several brokers have mentioned Indonesia's Arcadia Shipmanagement as the buyer. An Arcadia manager contacted by TradeWinds on Wednesday declined to comment. The company was last linked to the purchase of a VLGC in July last year.
Indonesian buying interest may have been spurred by a requirement for two gas carriers put out by Pertamina, the state-owned oil major.
Buyers have also been active in India, one of the world's largest markets for LPG. The government there recently offered incentives to shipowners to import LPG.
Sakura Energy Transport, an outfit set up last year by Japanese shipping giant Mitsui OSK Lines to serve India's growing energy needs, bought two mid-sized LPG carriers from Russia's Sovcomflot (SCF Group), as TradeWinds reported.
