A newcomer on the Hong Kong shipowning scene has bought one of Bahri Chemical’s older MR2 product/chemical tankers.
Captain Chan Shipping has recently taken delivery of the Saudi Arabian tanker giant’s 46,300-dwt NCC Tihama (built 2006) after paying between $21.5m and $22.5m, according to various broking sources.
The Hyundai Mipo Dockyard-built NCC Tihama was quietly sold in June as part of Bahri Chemical’s ongoing fleet renewal process, Asian tanker broking sources say.
Exactly who is behind Captain Chan remains unclear. Hong Kong corporate registers show it as being founded in March 2023.
The company’s official registered address is an office in a commercial building in Hong Kong’s Kowloon district that is shared by many other non-shipping related companies, a strong indication that the location is occupied by a corporate registry company.
The S&P Global International Ships Register gives a second address for the company in Guangzhou, China.
The NCC Tihama, which has been renamed Petrel 1 and placed on the Liberian register, is its first and so far, only ship.
TradeWinds was unable to find any phone numbers for Captain Chan, nor the offices in which it resides in both locations. The company could therefore not be contacted for comment.
Captain Chan has wasted no time putting its ship into service. Vessel tracking websites show the renamed vessel as having recently departed Port Klang in Malaysia, heading for Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates.
The NCC Tihama is one of a raft of early HMD-built MR2s dating from the early 2000s that Bahri Chemicals is slowly pruning from its fleet as and when their dry-dockings become due.
Last year, the company sold off four MR2s for between $17.25m and $20.1m each. Two were sold to single-ship entities affiliated with Dubai-based manager SPM Shipping, while another pair went to Turkish shipowning entities affiliated with Beks Tanker.
The sale of the NCC Tihama leaves Bahri Chemicals with five sister ships that were built at HMD when the company was still known as National Chemical Carriers. Brokers believe these ships will also be made available for sale as their dry-dockings and special surveys become due.
