A joint venture of US-listed StealthGas and unknown partners is parting with its largest LPG carrier at a considerable profit.
The 38,500-cbm LPG carrier Eco Nebula (built 2007) changed hands for $27.75m, according to ship-management sources and several brokers in Athens, London and New York.
This compares with the $20m that StealthGas chief executive Harry Vafias and his joint venture partners spent to acquire the vessel three years ago.
The midsize gas carrier (MGC) was trading as Viking River in 2019 before joining the “Small LPG JV structure” that StealthGas and unidentified interests set up earlier that year.
The structure exists to this day but the sale of the Eco Nebula leaves it with four smaller ships — the 7,000-cbm Gas Haralambos (built 2007), the 5,000-cbm Gas Defiance and Gas Shuriken (both built 2008) and the 3,500-cbm Eco Lucidity (built 2009).
StealthGas also has a separate “MGC JV” structure, which owns a pair of 35,200-cbm ships and a 40,000-cbm LPG newbuiding under construction and due for delivery in 2024.
StealthGas managers declined to comment on the reported sale of the Eco Nebula, citing standard policy to not discuss such matters outside official press releases.
Turkish dealings
Turkey’s Manta Denizcilik, the ship’s purported buyers, did not respond to a request for comment.
Manta, a company controlled by the descendants of founder Metin Cetinkaya, is best known in the market as a handysize specialist.
According to its website, it manages a dozen such vessels, alongside a panamax and a supramax.
Manta managers, however, have said in the past that their company owned three LPG carriers as well, without identifying them.
The most common shipping reference sources are not listing Manta with any LPG carriers.
Istanbul shipping sources resolve the conundrum by explaining that Manta used to be a shareholder in PascoGas — an outfit set up as a joint venture of various Turkish shareholders, including Negmar Denizcilik.
According to the same sources, the cooperation was dissolved recently and the former partners are going their separate ways with divergent business strategies.
While Negmar and Manta focus on secondhand LPG ships, PascoGas has been steering an autonomous course that includes newbuildings.
The Eco Nebula is not the only ship StealthGas has sold in recent months. In April, the US-listed outfit divested the 3,800-cbm Gas Monarch (built 1997) at an undisclosed price.
According to IHS Markit, the ship emerged in May as Gas Milano in the fleet of Turkey-based Petroxi Trading.
The Gas Monarch was StealthGas’ oldest ship. Its sale is, therefore, in line with the company’s fleet renewal strategy.
