Ardmore Shipping sees strength in chemical trades, but bringing in more vessels is a matter of fit.
The Ireland-based tanker owner said it had fixed MR tankers for $15,300 per day early in the fourth quarter and its chemical tankers for $17,400 per day, with a recent fixture hitting $20,500 per day.
On the company's third-quarter earnings call, chief executive Anthony Gurnee attributed the chemical tanker outperformance to the flagging oil market.
"I think it's largely due to the fact that when you get into periods of rapid GDP growth, that really helps the chemical tankers, whereas MRs are obviously impacted by that as well, but they're more subject to the forces of the oil market itself," he said.
Later in the call, he said Ardmore views the chemical sector as being broadly attractive and where the long-term growth would be.
Gurnee said the company could consider expanding its chartered-in fleet, but would be careful not to begin running something akin to a pool.
As it stands, Ardmore charters in six ships, two product tankers and four ships that can trade either petroleum products or chemicals.
The quartet, owned by Germany's Buttner, ranges from 23,998 dwt to 24,035 dwt and was built between 2003 and 2006.
Gurnee said the four are older but "in great shape, and they're very good to trade".
"We would be looking for strategic type of relationships like that, as opposed to just opening the door to people with one and two ships at a time," he said.
Ardmore posted a $12.8m loss versus a $6.6m loss for the third quarter last year.
In the earnings release, Gurnee said the oil market was close to an upturn with inventories being drawn down.
From there, rates should rise, with the company hoping for a strong finish to the year, carrying into 2022.
