Emirates National Oil Co (ENOC) has ended its direct involvement in tanker shipping after selling its two product tankers to Chinese interests.
The Dubai-based oil company’s 46,500-dwt, IMO type 2 MR tankers Falcon Grace and Falcon Victory (both built 1999) are joining the fleet of China’s Zhejiang Changchang Shipping.
While Zhejiang Changchang officials confirmed the deal to TradeWinds, they declined to reveal the price paid for the pair, only saying the $5.8m per ship reported by brokers this week was considerably lower than the actual figure.
TradeWinds understands from Singapore-based tanker sources that the deal to sell the ships was tied up towards the end of December, and the Falcon Victory has just been handed over and renamed Star Sino. The handover of the Falcon Grace is imminent.
Details unclear
ENOC, via one-ship entities registered in Singapore, acquired the pair from d’Amico International Shipping in May 2013, paying a reported $12.2m each. The ships were managed out of Singapore, first by Synergy Marine and later by Centennial Maritime Ventures.
It remains unclear how ENOC operated the ships, and even why the company decided to buy them in the first place given that it already had a 35% stake in product tanker operator Gulf Energy Maritime.
ENOC officials were not available to comment on why the company has sold the ships, although it is likely their age and the upcoming 2020 sulphur cap strongly influenced the decision.
Zhejiang Changchang, which operates a fleet of two handymax and two supramax bulkers, declined to comment further on its commercial activities and the circumstances surrounding its decision to enter the tanker space.
