Two Greek product tanker specialists have expanded their bets on a market recovery with acquisitions that help fill a few items into an otherwise thin list of secondhand tanker transactions.
With the exception of a blockbuster deal that saw Clean Sea Transport acquire nine dual-fuel methanol tankers and conventional LR1s, tanker sale-and-purchase markets remain sluggish.
One rare sign of life was provided by Spring Marine Management, which ship management sources in Athens identify as the buyer of the 51,400-dwt tanker Ivy Express (built 2009).
Several brokers in Greece and London reported that Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines sold the South Korean-built vessel for $15m. Other sources, however, insist the actual price is below that level.
A mismatch in ideas
Low-profile Spring Marine has been a frequent player in the secondhand market, which it has used to assemble a fleet of 12 product tankers, chemical carriers and bunkering vessels.
MRs have been the company’s favoured area of expansion this year. The Ivy Express is the fourth such ship Spring Marine has acquired over the past 11 months, after three MRs it bought in the wind-down of the Xihe Group fleet.
This is in line with general market trends, as players expect product tankers to benefit first from a freight rate recovery.
“MR units remain the most sought-after size,” Athens-based Seaborne Shipbrokers said in a weekly report on Monday.
Different ideas between potential buyers and sellers, however, are putting a lid on the overall amount of deals actually concluded.
Interested buyers are looking to acquire units built after 2008 but most available vessels are built around 2005 and are still expensive in buyers' eyes, Seaborne analysts said.
“A mismatch between the age group that buyers focus on and that of the vessels representing realistic sale candidates... [leads] to a relatively limited number of transactions,” they said.
Moving to the next biggest tanker category, it is Greek buyers in the limelight again.
Athens-based brokers reported on Monday that Paschalis Diamantides-led Velos Tankers has acquired the Japanese-held, 74,900-dwt Justice Victoria (built 2010) for $17.3m.
Market sources contacted by TradeWinds, however, said the deal was concluded in the summer at a price level below the one brokers reported.
Sticking to the basics
A purchase by Velos would bring the company’s fleet to eight product tankers, from MRs to LR2s.
One remarkable thing about Velos’ steady expansion is that it took place despite the coronavirus upheaval. Founded in late 2019, the young company’s life so far effectively coincided with the pandemic.
Market observers pointed out that Velos has, nevertheless, continued to execute its business strategy as Diamantides sticks to principles learned at the side of his father Diamantis, who independently heads shipping powerhouses Delta Tankers and Marmaras Navigation.
Velos is understood to be operating its fleet free of debt and with a traditional hands-on approach.
On current market conditions, tanker S&P is bound to remain sluggish, analysts said.
“Given that fundamentals in the sector are still poor and asset prices have not yet softened, the expectation is for activity to fall back once more,” Allied Shipping Research said on Monday.
