Arcadia Shipmanagement, a low-profile tanker company led by brothers Panagiotis and George Angelopoulos, has sold its fourth ageing ship in about a year.
As part of its fleet renewal initiative, the company has divested its oldest vessel, the 159,100-dwt Aegean Angel (built 2004), while simultaneously ordering six newbuildings in its traditional sectors of operation, namely suezmaxes and aframaxes.
The transaction price for the Hyundai Heavy Industry-built vessel remains undisclosed.
Its transaction, however, is beyond doubt, as it is already trading under its new name, Angelica I, with Dubai’s Maxcon Marine Services as its listed manager.
This makes the Aegean Angel one of the dozens of older tankers sold over the past couple of years by Western owners — particularly from Greece — to little-known players based in the Middle East and the Far East.
VesselsValue indicates the ship was sold in mid-February at $30.5m. If true, the price is a little below what might otherwise have been expected, which may be because it has its special survey due in July.
Assuming the Aegean Angel was sold at that price, Arcadia probably raised close to $150m since December 2022 from divesting two suezmaxes and two aframaxes.
It did not wait long to reinvest these proceeds into newbuildings.
TradeWinds reported last November how the company ordered two suezmaxes at Hyundai Samho Heavy Industries for $85m apiece.
A few weeks later, it turned to China for four aframaxes for at least $63m each. According to Clarksons, state-owned Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Co is to deliver the scrubber-fitted quartet in 2027.
Arcadia’s current fleet on the water consists of five suezmaxes and two aframaxes.
Given the recent pattern of Arcadia’s divestments, its three oldest ships might be considered potential sale candidates: the 115,800-dwt Aegean Harmony and Aegean Nobility, and the 159,100-dwt Aegean Horizon (all built 2007).
Arcadia should not be confused with Indonesia’s Arcadia Shipping.
