Abu Dhabi-listed shipowner and shipbuilder Al Seer Marine has acquired its third VLCC in a little over fourth months.
The Guy Neivens-led company said it has acquired the 300,000-dwt Elandra Everest (built 2020) for AED 396m ($107.8m). It has been renamed Acrux.
This latest acquisition takes Al Seer Marine’s expenditure on secondhand VLCCs in the last four months to AED 900m.
Earlier this year it acquired the 321,000-dwt VLCCs SCF Shanghai (built 2014) and Svet (built 2013) for AED 404m from sanctioned Russian state shipowner Sovcomflot. They have been renamed Twin Pollux and Twin Castor.
“The sentiment for tankers is strong, with VLCC earnings having risen consistently since June and continues its upward trajectory,” said Neivens.
“The global tanker demand is expected to grow by about 5% in 2023, exacerbated by rising production and the reorganisation of some of the trade routes; we expect our fleet to provide returns on equity of over 20% over the lifecycle of the fleet.”
The shipowner said it continues analysing its expansion initiatives in crude and product tankers, gas tankers, and dry bulk shipping sectors in 2022.
Today, Al Seer Marine’s fleet numbers 10 ships and is valued at more than AED 1.2bn. It is expected to grow further with the company’s short-term plans of acquiring more than two ships in the next three months.
In addition to the three VLCCs, Al Seer Marine recently acquired two LPG tankers valued at a combined AED 259m.
Brokers have reported that the vessels acquired were the Sovcomflot-owned 20,550-cbm Sibur Voronezh and 20,311-cbm Sibur Tobol (both built 2013).
Al Seer Marine said it also has two 86,000-cbm VLGCs currently under construction as part of a joint venture with energy trader BGN International.
“Al Seer Marine continues to strengthen; we have massively grown our operation in the past 10 months; with the Acrux acquisition, we are on track to become one the key players in the global maritime sector,” Neivens added.
In late August 2022, the company reported a 115% increase in second quarter net profit to AED 883m, with revenue climbing to AED 475m.
As TradeWinds reported on Wednesday, sales in the secondhand VLCC market have accelerated on the back of spot rates reaching their highest levels in years.
Deals have been reported for ships on both ends of the age spectrum — from modern, scrubber-fitted vessels to units that would have been normally expected to be candidates for demolition.
