Polembros Shipping has struck a deal to sell its oldest aframax at a price above the one it paid to buy the same ship about seven years ago.
Ship-management sources in Athens and Piraeus are relating that the 115,300-dwt Kythira Warrior (built 2006) is about to change hands for $38m.
This is higher than the $33m to $34m that Polembros is said to have spent to acquire the Japanese-built vessel in October 2015.
The Kythira Warrior is the oldest of the 12 aframax and suezmax crude carriers in the Polembros fleet.
The ship’s sale follows the pattern of several other Western tanker owners who benefit from high prices for such tonnage, sparked by intense interest from Asia-based players after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
The reported sale price of the Kythira Warrior is identical with that said to have been achieved earlier this week by the 110,800-dwt Kriti Galaxy (built 2006), another aframax of the same age built in Japan.
The majority of recent tanker sales concern similarly old tonnage. But there are exceptions.
Salty Wolf
Late last year, Polembros sold a mid-aged ship — the 157,300-dwt suezmax Kimolos Warrior (built 2013) — for $47m.
The ship has since emerged under the new name of Salty Wolf in the managed fleet of United Arab Emirates-based K&O Shipmanagement.
According to the S&P Global Market data platform, K&O Shipmanagement was set up in 2022 and has another three suezmaxes chartered-in: the 156,500-dwt Fjord Seal (built 2011), and 158,600-dwt Sable and Sakarya (both built 2011).
Alongside its crude carrier fleet, Spiros Polemis-controlled Polembros also manages 12 bulkers, including five newcastlemaxes and a capesize.
The company saw one of its suezmaxes spend nearly six months in captivity in Iran last year.
Without having committed any wrongdoing, the 157,400-dwt Delta Poseidon (built 2011) was embroiled in a tit-for-tat arrest game that involved another two tankers, pitting the government of Iran against Greece and the US.
However, since its release in mid-November, the Delta Poseidon has resumed normal trading and faced no other hiccups.
