A secondhand VLCC deal between two Greek companies has placed emphasis on falling tanker prices amid a weak freight environment.
Several brokers said Vanda Marine in early July sold the 320,000-dwt Hra (built 2011) to Eurotankers for $48m, inclusive of future installations of scrubber technology and a ballast water treatment system.
It later emerged that the Elias and Michael Gotsis-led company might have opted for a cheaper price tag of $46m without those installations, but this could not be immediately verified.
TradeWinds has approached Vanda and Eurotankers for comment.
The reported price “sounds the market level to me”, said a Chinese broker. “VLCC prices have dropped due to lower freight earnings.”
Clarksons Research assessed the secondhand price of a 10-year-old VLCC at $47m as of last Friday, down from $52m in early May.
Daily spot VLCC earnings also have fallen by about $20,000 since.
“The market is softening,” said a London-based broker. “The price expectation has dropped, and sellers are not showing up as much as before.”
“Summertime is not the best time to sell tankers.”
With tonnage still being released from floating storage, many analysts believe earnings prospects for tankers will be dim in the next 12 to 18 months.
Constructed by DSME, the Hra traded for several years as Orthis in the fleet of Ghassan Ghandour company Gulf Marine Management.
In February 2017, George Economou’s DryShips reportedly bought it for $57m and renamed it Shiraga.
Then, the vessel was renamed Hra in late 2019 as it passed under the management of Vanda, which was then a newly registered company in Athens.
Piraeus-based Eurotankers has been expanding and renewing its fleet rapidly in recent years.
Between March 2016 and November 2019, the company made 14 confirmed tanker purchases for an estimated total outlay of about $250m.
In April, Eurotankers reportedly agreed to pay $32m for the 104,600-dwt Nanyang Star (built 2012). Industry databases show the vessel has been renamed Eurostrength.
According to VesselsValue, the company has a fleet of three handysize bulkers and 16 tankers of various sizes, including two VLCCs, five suezmaxes and six aframaxes.
