Ardmore Shipping has kick-started a fleet renewal with a raid on the secondhand product tanker market.
The US-listed, Ireland-based owner has snapped up the 50,000-dwt St Pauli (built 2017) from Meiji Shipping in Japan for $42m.
Offers were invited on the scrubber-fitted ship on Tuesday.
A European shipbroking source said the deal set a 2024 benchmark for five to 10-year-old eco MRs.
Ardmore chief executive Anthony Gurnee confirmed the deal to TradeWinds, describing it as part of a “bigger fleet modernisation plan”.
VesselsValue assesses the tanker as worth $43.7m, up from $32m two years ago.
Meiji paid $35.5m to order it in 2015.
The St Pauli operates in the Maersk MR pool.
Ardmore owns 15 other ships built between 2013 and 2015.
In 2022, three 2008-built MR2s were sold to Germany’s Leonhardt & Blumberg.
In November, Ardmore reported a net profit of $20.3m for the third quarter, down from $61m in the same period of 2022.
The balance sheet showed $50.8m in cash and equivalents at the end of September, out of $686m in total assets.
Long-term debt and lease obligations stood at nearly $103m.
Eva Tzima, head of research at Greece’s Seaborne Shipbrokers, said higher rates for product tankers amid Red Sea disruptions have “ignited further enthusiasm” and boosted enquiries for secondhand ships.
Aframax/LR2s and LR1s have been particularly sought after.
Buyers have been quickly increasing their bids, she added, but securing fairly prompt candidates has been a struggle, with sellers in control.
