Phoenix Tankers has put a 12-year-old VLCC up for sale as rising asset prices promise a better deal.
A tanker source said the 302,000-dwt VLCC Phoenix Vanguard (built 2007) is on the market after a previous sale attempt failed.
In late June, an offer from Ghassan Ghandour’s Hermes Marine Management of $38.7m was accepted for the DSME-built crude carrier.
However, the sale fell through because the buyer handed over only a 10% down payment of $3.87m.
“Hermes did not pay the remaining 90% of the sales price and MOL [as parent company to Phoenix] has pocketed the down payment,” the source said.
An executive of Singapore-based Phoenix declined to comment.
But the shipowner is set to benefit from the collapsed deal, since VLCC values have increased in recent weeks. VesselsValue estimates the Phoenix Vanguard is currently worth about $42.3m.
“There is good demand for secondhand VLCCs,” said one tanker broker, who noted that prices have risen by 5% to 10% in recent weeks and charter rates of between $75,000 and $80,000 per day are fairly healthy.
“In a market like this, there will be [an] appetite for secondhand ships.”
Phoenix is said to be selling the Phoenix Vanguard as part of its scheduled sale-and-purchase activity. However, the tanker is relatively young for such a sale by the standards of major Japanese operators, which usually dispose of tonnage over 15 years old.
The Phoenix Vanguard is understood to have come off long-term contract-of-affreightment work with a Japanese oil company and has not found similar employment.
Hellenic buy
Meanwhile, brokers said Greek shipowner Hellenic Tankers has emerged as the buyer of MOL’s 306,000-dwt VLCC Oriental Jade (renamed Princess Alexia, built 2004).
The Japanese company sold the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries-built ship in August for a reported price of $25.5m.
Hellenic is set to make about $8m on the VLCC acquisition, as VesselsValue now estimates the tanker is worth $33.5m.
The Princess Alexia is the first secondhand purchase for Hellenic this year. It was more active last year, having splashed out about $98m to buy three VLCCs, two LR2 tankers and one LR1.
