The judicial manager of Xihe Holdings has put a VLCC linked to the family of Lim Oon Kuin — founder of collapsed oil trader Hin Leong Trading and affiliated shipping firm Ocean Tankers — up for sale.
Sources with knowledge of the matter said Grant Thornton has appointed Clarksons and Arrow Shipbroking as exclusive brokers on the sale of the Chinese-built, 318,000-dwt Jiu Hua San (built 2009).
Interested parties can inspect the crude carrier at Tanjung Pelepas in Malaysia, they added.
The Jiu Hua San is one of six VLCCs ordered by Xihe at Shanghai Waigaoqiao Shipbuilding (SWS) in 2006 at a reported price of about $118m. VesselsValue estimates it is worth $41.42m.
A sale-and-purchase broker said potential buyers would likely offer prices below the tanker's market value.
“This VLCC is a non-eco ship and is less preferred by charterers,” he said. “The current VLCC market is also not great. The buyers will also be taking into account the tanker’s condition, since it has been idling for around a year.”
The broker also cited the recent sale of a 2012-built Xihe VLCC — the 318,000-dwt Qi Lian San — for $44m. The SWS-built crude carrier changed hands for almost $5m less than the $48.97m price tag suggested by VesselsValue.
Some reports have linked the sale to Greece's Dynacom Tankers, but company executives have denied any involvement.
