Evangelos Marinakis-backed Capital Ship Management is reported to have agreed on a lucrative sale of two MR tankers that have been in the fleet since they were built.
European brokers said UK shipping fund Tufton Oceanic Assets is paying a combined $73m for the 50,000-dwt Alkaios and Archon (both built 2016).
This represents $8m more than the Greek owner paid to order the vessels at Samsung Heavy Industries in 2013.
VesselsValue assesses the pair as worth about $67m together, against a background of rising rates and asset prices.
The ships have been operating in the Dorado Tankers Pool.
Neither Capital nor Tufton has responded to TradeWinds’ requests for comment.
Capital has been active in sale-and-purchase markets this year, selling the 114,000-dwt aframax Aristodimos (built 2006) to an unknown Chinese buyer for $26m in the summer, as well as buying in four LNG-fuelled aframaxes sold by sanctioned Russian shipowner Sovcomflot (SCF Group).
For Tufton, the deal is part of a continuing expansion into product tankers and is far cheaper than the $82m-plus brokers estimate it would cost to order the ships new.
In July, the London-listed fund said it believes the strong product tanker market will lead to longer charters at higher rates.
Rising values
But the hot container ship sector will weaken over the coming 12 months, the company argues.
The fund has sold all but one of its container vessels and acquired bulkers and tankers.
In June, the company was said to have bought the 50,000-dwt MR STI Benicia (built 2014) from an unknown seller for $31.5m, with a dry docking due.
The scrubber-fitted tanker was offloaded by Scorpio Tankers in March for $25.6m. It is now valued at $35m — a steep rise in just five months.
