Denmark's Dee4 Capital Partners is building its modern MR fleet with the capture of a resale in South Korea.
Founding partner Carsten Mortensen told TradeWinds that clients of Dee4 have acquired the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard (HMD) MR Hull No 2859 as a resale from France's Societe d’Armement et de Transport (Socatra).
The 50,000-dwt vessel will be named Dee4 Nerium and delivery is due in March this year. The unit is valued at nearly $39m by VesselsValue.
Brokers had reported Dee4 as purchasing the 50,000-dwt Hull No 2853 at HMD for $38.25m, also due in the next few weeks. The owner of this vessel is not known.
Dee4 itself has four new MRs coming this year in partnership with Helikon Shipping Enterprises of Greece.
Two of these are due this month, with the others set to be handed over in April and August.
The vessels were ordered on behalf of Helikon's clients between October 2020 and June 2021.
They are named the Dee4 Ilex, Dee4 Juniper, Dee4 Kastania and Dee4 Mahogany. All are flagged in Liberia.
Charter to Stena
One of the ships has secured a charter contract from Stena, Dee4 said.
The private equity-backed shipowner declined to comment on the newbuilding price for the MRs.
In March 2021, TradeWinds had reported Dee4 ordered three MRs from HMD for $34m to $35m each.
Socatra has nine tankers and a ro-ro in its operational fleet.
The resale it is offloading is the second one of four MRs on order at HMD, with the first sister vessel due this month, and then two others in May and July.
They were ordered for $36.5m each in January 2021.
Focus on MRs
Dee4, launched by Mortensen and Freddie Lee in 2019, has focused on maritime investments in the MR segment.
The owner has five tankers operational.
Brokers also list the company as owning part of E4C Shipping as well, with Ecco Holding of Denmark and trading giant Gunvor Group.
This company controls two more MRs built at HMD in 2021.
TradeWinds reported in July last year that Bordeaux-based Socatra had raked in about $15.75m from the sale of an MR tanker.
And major Greek owner Eastern Mediterranean Maritime in April last year bought Socatra's Hull Nos 2860 and 2861 for $69.6m combined, as TradeWinds reported.
