A 15-year-old crude tanker that was reported to be under negotiations last week at a deep discount to its last transaction price ultimately closed at a higher price level.
Market sources are identifying Kyklades Maritime, the private company of Greece’s Alafouzos family, as the new owner of the 313,000-dwt C. Prosperity (built 2009).
The vessel is changing hands at $53m.
This is far higher than the “just-above-$50m” price tag that the SK Shipping-owned vessel was said to be listed for on the trading block last week.
The $53m price for the scrubber-fitted C. Prosperity seems still low when one considers that earlier this year another Chinese-built ship of the same age and without scrubbers changed hands for $53.5m.
Direct comparisons between the two cases are not straightforward, however, as the C. Prosperity is being sold with a special survey due in about two months from now — a considerable expense that the new owner will have to shoulder.
At a more general level, however, the price of the C.Prosperity appears subdued when compared with instant, ready-made valuations provided by platforms such as VesselsValue and Signal Ocean, which estimate that the ship should be currently worth about $59m.
Commenting on the C. Prosperity last week, Cleaves Shipbrokers said that “crude oil tankers seem to have hit a price ceiling for the time being, as the few transactions and negotiations reported seem to indicate slightly weaker prices than before”.
Kyklades declined to comment on the information that it is the ship’s buyer.
What is certain, however, is that the ship is not bought by Okeanis Eco Tankers — the public company controlled by the Alafouzos family.
The C. Prosperity would not be a purchase candidate for New York-listed Okeanis, which focuses on much more modern tankers.
