Ghassan Ghandour is being strongly linked with the purchase of a secondhand VLCC in a move that would double his interest in the sector.
Ghandour – who has a history as a significant player in the big tanker market – is being connected with the acquisition of a MOL-controlled vessel.
TradeWinds reported last week brokers were closely tracking the sale of the 306,506-dwt Phoenix Vanguard (built 2007) by Phoenix Tankers.
Price expectations at the time were being pegged in the high $30m to low $40m range.
Today the market is awash with chatter suggesting Ghandour’s Hermes Marine Management has bought the tanker for $38.75m, which is viewed as “very strong”.
It comes at a time of growing interest from charterers in VLCCs and rising asset prices with IMO 2020 edging closer.
“We are all getting excited for the winter,” said one broker, noting the present sentiment in the VLCC space during what is historically the weak summer period.
The Phoenix Vanguard transaction, if confirmed, would show a firming of VLCC asset values among older tankers, following a spike in the price of modern ships during the past couple of months.
As TradeWinds has reported, the $98m Arne Fredly’s Hunter has secured for one – and potentially two – of its VLCCs at DSME is the highest figure seen in half a decade.
Ghandour was a prominent player in the VLCC market in the noughties and in 2010 reference sources show his company Pacific Star to have had six VLCCs on the water and three newbuildings on order.
Today, only one of the ships from that era - the 320,000-dwt Chloe (ex Callisto Glory, built 2011) - remains in the fleet of what is now Hermes Marine.
The company is also believed to be awaiting the delivery of a series of four post-panamax bulkers from Cosco Yangzhou for delivery in 2020.
Hermes Marine has been contacted for comment.
Harry Papachristou also contributed to this article
