Greece’s Metrostar Management looks poised to return to the VLCC sector after several years, following its reported purchase of a five-year-old vessel.
US brokers are linking the Athens-based company to a $71m deal for the 308,200-dwt Landbridge Majesty (built 2017), a ship controlled by Hong Kong-based Landbridge Holdings.
Neither company responded to an e-mail requesting comment.
A purchase by Metrostar would be its first fleet expansion sign after a string of LR2 and aframax sales in recent months.
Landbridge, by contrast, is known to be active as a seller after disposing of another VLCC to John Fredriksen-controlled SFL Corp last year.
A deal would be characteristic of unusually busy activity for such vessels on the sale-and-purchase (S&P) market amid the volatility created by the war in Ukraine.
Sinokor Merchant Marine alone has been linked to as many as 12 purchases and fixtures of such ships lately, as TradeWinds reported.
In a report issued on 14 March, analysts at Athens’ Allied Research called this activity “surprising — at least to some extent”.
Not entirely accurate
Some of the news about VLCCs changing hands, however, should be taken with a pinch of salt.
For example, knowledgeable market sources in Athens are telling TradeWinds that reports of the 307,000-dwt Onassis ship Olympic Loyalty II (built 2005) being sold are wrong.
In another reported Greek sale, NGM Energy’s 314,000-dwt My Way (built 2007) was said to be changing hands to Middle Eastern or Chinese buyers.
Market sources told TradeWinds that the vessel was still on seller’s subjects as of 15 March, for a price close to $37m.
Another VLCC reportedly on subjects is the 301,000-dwt Eneos Tokyo (built 2004), which its Japanese owners are about to offload to Chinese interests for around $30.5m.
Tanker S&P activity extends to smaller sizes as well, with reports, again, not always being accurate.
Greece’s Centrofin Management has been widely reported as buying the 74,900-dwt LR Tectus (built 2009) for between $14.9m and $15.7m.
According to ship management sources in Athens, it’s not Centrofin that acquired the vessel, as it has not even entered into negotiations to buy or sell any ship recently.
Back on the buying path
Μore certainty exists about Diamantis Diamantides company Delta Tankers returning on the scene as a buyer.
The Athens outfit has carried out its first tanker purchase in more than a year, buying a Turkish-controlled suezmax — the 158,300-dwt Densa Orca (built 2012), which Istanbul-based Marinsa Shipping is offloading for about $33m.
Marinsa also sold sistership Densa Whale (built 2012) last November, to Greece’s Thenamaris, for $32m.
A company that plays both sides of the secondhand fence is Greece’s Estoril Navigation. In late June, it broke a five-year hiatus on the S&P front by adding to its fleet an LR2 aframax tanker that went under the hammer.
This month, however, the company joined sellers’ ranks by disposing of a somewhat older aframax, the 106,400-dwt Blue Power (built 2003), to Vietnamese interests for $13.5m.
Managers at Estoril did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
