Chandris (Hellas) is said to have bought a 15-year-old aframax tanker from Chilean operator Ultranav in a rare secondhand acquisition for the Greek owner.
The Greek shipowner agreed to buy the 105,400-dwt Cabo Tamar (built 2004) for $17m as the vessel completed drydocking recently, according to market sources.
Clarksons data shows the vessel is fitted with scrubber technology, giving it the option to continue consumption of the cheaper high-sulphur fuel oil after 31 December.
However, it is not known whether the price tag is inclusive of scrubber installation costs. “This would be very surprising”, said a London-based broker who noted that $17m would seem too cheap for a scrubber-fitted aframax in the buoyant asset market, despite its age.
When contacted by TradeWinds, Chandris and Ultranav both declined to comment.
According to its website, Chandris operates three VLCCs, two suezmaxes, four aframaxes and three MR chemical tankers. The diversified player, based in Piraeus, also has four capesize, one kamsarmax, and two panama bulkers in its fleet.
In 2018, the company acquired two MR tankers and one supramax bulker in what appeared to be a bank-driven deal.
However, data from VesselsValue suggested those were likely the only secondhand acquisitions of Chandris since 2015.
Chandris is picking up the vessel at a time when the outlook for tanker asset prices appear strong, even though there have already been substantial gains in the past two years.
Based on Clarksons’ estimates, the secondhand price of a 15-year-old aframax is about $18m, compared with $10m in early December 2017.
Some industry participants have suggested secondhand prices of tankers could increase more in the coming months, with strong freight environments.
According to a Bloomberg survey of shipping analysts, average aframax earnings will increase to $27,500 per day in 2020 from $20,875 per day in 2019.
