The German owner is understood to have sold the 306,500-dwt DS Vidonia (built 2006) to a Greek owner.
A price of $57.5m is being placed on the transaction, with a premium of around $1m attributed to its prompt delivery in the Arabian Gulf.
Rates out of the Arabian Gulf heading east are presently at almost $89,000 per day according to Howe Robinson Partners and it is into this hot market that the tanker will arrive with its new owner in under two weeks.
Sale and purchase brokers say the ship generated a good degree of interest with a number of big names taking a look, helping to push up the price.
Data from VesselsValue.com shows VLCC sale and purchase activity this year has now passed through the $3bn mark.
TradeWinds reported in May that around 10% of the VLCC fleet was for sale.
Many of the vessels on that list have now been sold, following deals for Tsakos Energy Navigation, Euronav, Fred Cheng and a mystery Russian in the past couple of weeks.
Ridgebury Tankers has also entered VLCC ownership for the first time, purchasing four tankers it previously had under management.
A top sale and purchase broker notes the ships sold have been on the market for a while, with no new vessels coming available. “Why would you want sell in this market,” he said.
