A reported VLCC sale by Saudi Arabian state-controlled shipowner Bahri has again illustrated rampant tanker asset values.
Brokers have identified the 303,000-dwt Abqaiq (built 2002) as fetching $30m from unknown Chinese interests.
The ship has a special survey due.
Two weeks ago, another vessel with a special survey due, the 301,000-dwt VLCC Tsurusaki (renamed Ivory Star, built 2002), was reported sold by Thailand’s Nathalin to unkown Greeks for a price between $31.25m and $33m.
Bahri wasn’t immediatly immediately available for comment on the sale of the Abqaiq.
A sale, however, looks likely.
VesselsValue and S&P Global Market Intelligence show the vessel has already been renamed Abie, with ownership transferred to Reayou Co, registered in the Marshall Islands.
The ship is among Bahri’s oldest big tankers. The company retains six other VLCCs built in 2001, 2002 and 2003.
VesselsValue assesses the Abqaiq as worth $31.3m.
The tanker was bought as a resale by Bahri from an unknown seller in 2001 for $82.5m.
Another older VLCC reported sold this week is the 311,600-dwt Tema (built 2005). The Japanese-built vessel fetched $34m, according to Athens-based brokers.
Sea Trade Marine, the Tema's Athens-based managers, didn't respond to a request for comment. If confirmed, the Tema would generate a handsome $4m for its owners, who bought the ship, formerly known as Katsuragisan, about exactly one year ago for $29.5m.
US-listed owner DHT offloaded a 2008-built VLCC, the 301,000-dwt DHT Edelweiss, for $37m last month.
Resale value hits $114m
Norwegian broker Lorentzen & Co said the Baltic Exchange reported “yet another week of exponentially higher levels” for tankers.
The exchange’s tanker sale and purchase index showed five-year-old VLCCs up at about $83.1m.
Clarksons Securities said that with the strength of the freight market and the impending EU embargo on Russian oil, it is unsurprising that ship values are rising further.
Secondhand VLCC values increased by $2m to $114m for a newbuild resale, the investment bank said.
And the only way is up.
“In our opinion, there is still lots of room for improvement in order to achieve fair newbuild parity levels,” said analysts Frode Morkedal and Even Kolsgaard.
They calculate a 10-year-old VLCC worth $62m has a 32% upside potential.
Bahri offloaded two 15-year-old MR tankers earlier in September for what appeared to be a discount to industry valuations.
The 46,000-dwt NCC Sudair and NCC Rabigh (both built 2007) were sold en-bloc sale at around $35m, or $36.4m, according to brokers.
Turkish buyer named
Special surveys on the pair are due in November, however.
Turkey’s Mercan Group, named as the buyer, has six small product tankers already in its fleet.
Bahri is not a big player in sale-and-purchase markets.
Its only sale recorded since the start of 2020 was the disposal in July this year of the 316,500-dwt VLCC Tinat (built 2002) for $30m to unknown Chinese interests.
Before the latest sales, only four vessels had been offloaded since 2009.
Harry Papachristou contributed to this article
