Private equity-backed Dee4 Capital Partners has begun to shed the large MR product tanker tonnage it amassed in recent years.
The Denmark-based venture confirmed to TradeWinds that the 53,700-dwt Dee4 Acacia and Dee4 Birch (both built 2006) were sold to Ridgebury Tankers last quarter.
Dee4 declined to comment on the sale price, but market sources said the Shin Kurushima-built vessels were sold for more than $12m apiece.
“Those are built by the Japanese with pump rooms," a broker said. "The price tag is not bad.”
Ridgebury chief executive Bob Burke also confirmed the deal when contacted by TradeWinds.
Burke said the deal had been struck about two months ago.
"We don't comment on price," Burke added in a message.
The ships have passed their third special surveys and been fitted with ballast water treatment systems.
The Dee4 Birch has been delivered and renamed Ridgebury Birch, while the Dee4 Acacia will be handed over to the buyer in the coming days.
This is the first known sale since Dee4 was founded by Danish shipping veteran Carsten Mortensen in 2019.
The investment firm had built a fleet of 13 MR vessels via secondhand purchases and newbuilding orders before selling the pair.
“Buying and selling ships is an integrated part of our business,” said Mortensen, who serves as Dee4’s chairman. He did not elaborate further.
Secondhand prices in most tanker segments have been rising in recent months, supported by high steel prices and a forecast earnings recovery later this year.
“Tankers sale-and-purchase transactions in number of vessels have underperformed those in dry and containers, however asset values have appreciated regardless, as expectations for a recovery tracking oil demand growth and elevated steel prices have disconnected asset values from the freight market,” Intermodal Shipbrokers said in a note.
“We expect the trend to continue in the coming months, with further asset value appreciation particularly if a market recovery takes place before the end of the year.”
However, MRs have flopped in terms of value appreciation. VesselsValue data shows secondhand prices in the segment have actually decreased across the age groups so far this year.
The online platform recorded 70 crude and product tankers changed hands in June and July, of which 19 were MRs.
