The tanker arms of Vietnam’s PetroVietnam and Indonesia’s Pertamina are reported to have bought Sumitomo-built aframax tankers from two leading Greek shipowners.
Tanker brokers based in Europe claim that PetroVietnam’s tanker arm PVTrans has purchased Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN)'s 105,000-dwt Sakura Princess (built 2007).
A firm price of $23m has been suggested for the deal. VesselsValue said the Sakura Princess is worth only $18.2m, while Maritime Strategies International indicated a range of $17.2m to $20.2m.
PVTrans and New York-listed TEN did not respond to requests for comment.
TEN said in March that it was planning to sell five of its older tankers.
Sale confusion
Tanker brokers also linked Pertamina International Shipping (PIS) with the purchase of Greek shipowner Dorian Hellas’ 105,000-dwt Oklahoma (built 2006). However, last month the vessel was reportedly fixed for a year to Trafigura Beheer.
Dorian owns one more aframax, the 105,000-dwt Ohio (built 2009).
Murmurings about the Oklahoma sale emerged last week, when some brokers suggested the ship was going to Indonesian interests for $18.5m.
The reported prices of both vessels are higher than VesselsValue's estimates, but it suggested that the ships were held on long subjects.
Neither PIS nor Dorian could be reached for comment.
PIS and PVTrans operate sizeable fleets of crude and product tankers in support of their parent oil major’s shipping requirements. Both have been active buyers of tonnage over the past year.
