Aeolos Management has reportedly bought a second tanker from China VLCC, part of China Merchants Energy Shipping (CMES).
Brokers said Aeolos, which is linked to Greece's Embiricos family, has paid $36m for the 296,000-dwt New Talisman (built 2009) in one of the first VLCC sales of 2022.
The deal highlights that despite low freight rates, Greek buyers remain interested in older VLCCs.
If confirmed, it would be Aeolos' third VLCC acquisition in the secondhand market in two months, boosting its VLCC fleet to nine.
In early December 2021, the company, via affiliated vessel-owning entity Skopelos Maritime, bought China VLCC's 298,000-dwt New Coral (built 2010) for a reported $38.5m. It is trading under the name Skopelos.
In November, ownership of Xihe Holdings' 318,000-dwt E Mei San (built 2010) officially switched to an Aeolos-linked company, after which it began trading as Kalamos.
Aeolos has been shedding VLCCs as well. Last summer, it offloaded the even older, 305,900-dwt Kos (built 2001) for between $26m and $27m. The vessel has been renamed Uzor and is managed by a company based in Russia.
A well-known asset player that made some lucrative container ship sales last year, Aeolos is one of several Greek tanker players to scoop up VLCCs from the secondhand market in recent weeks.
Non-eco disposals
Altomare and Hellenic Tankers have each bought a VLCC, while TradeWinds reported on 11 January that brokers were reporting that an as-yet-undisclosed Greek company had acquired Neda Maritime's 319,200-dwt Argenta (built 2005).
In another deal reported by brokers on 17 January, unidentified Greek buyers are believed to be spending $36.5m on the Japanese-controlled 310,400-dwt Tsushima (built 2008), which has been circulating for sale since November.
CMES, one of the world's largest tanker owners with a fleet that includes around 50 VLCCs, has steadily been selling its older, non-eco tankers as part of its long-term fleet strategy.
The Shanghai-listed shipowner revealed in a mid-2021 exchange filing that it would sell tankers with inferior fuel efficiency as it sought to meet new international decarbonisation rules and pursue green shipping.
The company, which could not be reached for comment on the reported sale of the New Talisman, is in the midst of taking delivery of a series of six 307,000-dwt crude carriers from Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co.
The New Talisman is the fourth VLCC that China VLCC has sold over the past 12 months.
Apart from the two sold to Aeolos, Greece's Thenamaris acquired the 297,000-dwt New Creation (built 2009) last April and trades it today as Searacer.
The 299,000-dwt New Century (built 2004) was sold last June to a Chinese-backed, Marshall Islands-registered entity called Lucky Clover Ltd, and renamed Lucky Century.
Listed in databases as being flagged in either Sierra Leone or Panama, little is known in the market of its trading patterns.
