A 19-year-old aframax tanker with a history of carrying Venezuelan oil has been reportedly sold for demolition in Bangladesh.
Brokers said the 106,000-dwt Nabiin (built 2002) was sold earlier this month and that ship manager Muhit Maritime would deliver the ship to the South Asian nation.
No price information is available. VesselsValue estimates the vessel is worth $7.71m.
IHS Maritime data shows the ship was previously known as Euroforce and was in Greece-based Eurotankers’ managed fleet before being taken over by Muhit in November.
Ownership was simultaneously transferred from Romina Maritime to Sagitta Maritime. Both are thought to be single-ship companies.
The US had sanctioned the aframax for delivering Venezuelan oil to China in mid-June amid a push to cripple Venezuela's oil trade.
But Washington swiftly removed the Euroforce from the blacklist in early July, along with three other Greek-linked vessels, saying the shipowners had committed to stop trading in Venezuela.
After the change of hands, Reuters reported Muhit was still using the vessel to carry Venezuelan oil as of late-2020.
The United Arab Emirates' foreign ministry said on 29 December that it launched a “thorough and comprehensive“ investigation into Muhit over sanctions compliance.
TradeWinds has approached the ministry and Muhit for further comments.
There is no suggestion that the scrap sale is in breach of US sanctions. Washington has not blacklisted Muhit, Sagitta Maritime or the Nabiin.
Recycle market
The aframax is one of the youngest tankers sold for recycling this year.
Despite weak freight earnings and firm demolition rates, Clarksons Research data shows only 11 tankers totalling 640,000 dwt have been recycled so far in 2021.
This is because secondhand prices for vintage ships remain high due to demand from those involved in trades potentially liable to US sanctions, according to some tanker experts.
With high freight rates in shipping Venezuelan or Iranian oil, buyers of old tonnage would only need to fix one or two voyages before selling their ships for scrapping, they added.
“For scrap sales…the vessel is just a pile of steel,” said an expert. “Its trading history should be pretty irrelevant, at least where a ship-breaker is concerned.”
