John Fredriksen’s Frontline has reportedly sold the final tanker in a series of three 156,700-dwt vessels built at Jiangsu Rongsheng Heavy Industries and named after Norse gods.
Brokers report that the Oslo and New York-listed shipowner has sold the Front Thor (built 2010) for just over $48m.
“Suezmax transactions around this age bracket have been hard to come by, however, Frontline’s ability to dispose of their 2010-built Rongsheng series at better than last done on each occasion is a prime example of the underlying positivity in the tanker space,” Fearnleys said in its weekly report.
The price came at a premium when measured against VesselsValue’s estimate of $45.8m, and slightly above the midpoint in MSI Horizon’s $43.9m to $50.5m valuation range.
A buyer was not disclosed. Frontline has been approached for comment.
In February, TradeWinds reported that Frontline had sold the Front Odin (built 2010), followed by the Front Loki (built 2010) in April.
The Front Odin ended up in the fleet of Moundreas family-backed NGM Energy of Greece and had a price tag of $45m, a slight premium to the $43.5m VesselsValue estimate.
The Front Loki was sold for $46.9m, according to US regulatory filings. It has been renamed Cape Benat.
Its sale price came at a small discount to its VesselsValue valuation of more than $47m.
That ship appears to be controlled by Pareto Securities-backed Pareto Maritime Services, which is listed as its commercial manager and shares a forwarding address with its registered owner.
Tanker values have rallied on the back of trading disruption, driven by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, plus a minuscule orderbook.
Now there are indications that some larger tankers have found a ceiling, with limited liquidity in VLCC secondhand markets.
The sale leaves Frontline with 81 crude and product tankers, Clarksons statistics show, plus five more on order.
Four of those newbuildings, all suezmaxes, will be delivered in 2026. The last will hit the water in 2027.
