Norwegian owner Odfjell has secured new work for two ethylene carriers it has been struggling to sell for two years.
The Oslo-listed company said the 9,000-cbm Bow Guardian and Bow Gallant (both built 2008) have been pulled from the Lauritzen Kosan pool and have been taken on time charter by Odfjell SE, which in turn has sealed time charters to a "major petrochemical producer" for 18 months.
TradeWinds understands the charterer is Braskem.
The ships will trade under the Brazilian flag. The rate has not been disclosed.
Sources said the vessels left the Lauritzen pool in September. Brokers had said the new charter term was two years.
Vessels losing money
The vessels brought in revenue of $1.7m in the third quarter, down from $2.1m in the same period of 2019.
The net loss was $200,000, against profit of $600,000 last year.
The pair have been for sale since early 2019 and Odfjell chief executive Kristian Morch told TradeWinds last year they had a "good home in the Lauritzen Kosan pool".
He added the company was in no hurry to dispose of the duo.
Odfjell is aiming for a price of $22m per vessel, but there has reportedly been little appetite for the ships at this level.
UK-based online firm VesselsValue assesses the carriers as worth $17.2m each.
Last year Morch said: "We want to be industry-leading in chemical tankers and do not see the need to also build a strong presence in the gas market. There are others that can do this better than us."
Competing chemical tanker giant Stolt-Nielsen has this year sold out of the LPG carrier company Avance Gas after entering the segment in 2009.
