New York-listed Navios Maritime Acquisition has reportedly sold an aged VLCC at a surprisingly strong price following the expiry of the ship’s time charter last month.
Brokers said the Angeliki Frangou-led owner sold the 298,700-dwt Nave Celeste (built 2003), for $25m in early January. It was the oldest ship in its fleet.
The VLCC had been fixed on a period charter with a base rate of $18,710 per day until December, according to Navios Acquisition’s website.
No information on the buyer is available. TradeWinds has approached Navios Acquisition for further comment.
VesselsValue estimates the ship is worth slightly more than $24m.
The owner managed to sell it at an above-market price possibly because it could offer prompt delivery, some brokers said. “It was a good price,” one commented.
Secondhand prices for tankers have been falling in recent quarters as freight rates are plagued by severe tonnage oversupply.
VLCC values sinking
The price of a 17-year-old VLCC has decreased by 14.3% since early 2020, data from VesselsValue shows.
“2021 is set to be a challenging year for the tanker market,” brokerage Simpson Spence Young said in an annual outlook. “There is scope for many older ships to be removed.”
But some brokers said buying interest for old vessels remains strong as long as they are not due for special survey.
Earlier this month, Greece's Cosmoship Maritime and its partners acquired the 309,300-dwt Pantariste (built 2002) from Minerva Marine for nearly $23.3m.
TradeWinds also reported NYK Line disposed the 301,000-dwt Tsurumi (built 2003) for $24.6m.
Fleet renewal
Navios Acquisition bought the Nave Celeste from BW Group for $35.4m in July 2013 when the energy shipping conglomerate began to divest from the VLCC segment.
The ship, constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, was previously named BW Luck.
The reported sale has come as Navios Acquisition, a tanker spin-off of Navios Maritime Holdings, is due to take delivery of three newbuilding VLCCs from Japanese yards in 2021 and 2022.
Two of the 310,000-dwt vessels are under construction at Imabari Shipbuilding and one at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Koyagi yard in Nagasaki.
