Norway’s Stolt-Nielsen has continued its fleet renewal with a deal to acquire three Japanese-built stainless steel chemical carriers.
The vessels have been bought by the Stolt Tankers division, the group said.
They will join the fleet between July and September.
TradeWinds understands the ships are owned by Japanese giant K Line.
Brokers report the 35,600-dwt Genuine Galaxy (built 2012) is costing $24.5m, and the 33,600-dwt Genuine Hercules and Genuine Venus (both built 2013) another $25.8m each.
VesselsValue assesses the Galaxy as worth $29m and the other two at around $31m and $32m, suggesting a bargain for Stolt.
Stolt-Nielsen told TradeWinds it could not reveal further details due to confidentiality agreements.
But Stolt Tankers president Lucas Vos said: “This acquisition is an excellent opportunity for Stolt Tankers to secure competitively-priced tonnage ahead of an expected cyclical upturn in the chemical tanker industry.”
“The tankers will lower the fleet age profile and can trade in any of our deep-sea lanes, increasing flexibility across our fleet,” he added.
“In the end, Stolt Tankers’ customers are the real winners in this deal, as these ships will support our proven platform that provides a high quality, reliable service offering,” Vos said.
Decision to be made
The group controls 158 chemical tankers.
In 2020, Stolt Tankers bought five 2016-built vessels from Peter Georgiopoulos’ Chemical Transportation Group (CTG).
Vos told TradeWinds at the time: “We do know that we have an older fleet and at a certain moment in time we need to take some decision on it.”
