The seconhand market for aged tankers has remained active this week with AET Tanker reportedly selling a 14-year-old VLCC.
Brokers said the Singapore-headquartered owner, part of Malaysia’s state carrier MISC Berhad, fetched $31m for the 300,400-dwt Bunga Kasturi Tiga (built 2006).
The Universal-built vessel’s price tag was described as “fair” and “good” considering the weakness in tanker asset markets.
Secondhand tanker values have been sliding since the second quarter as freight earnings weaken on limited vessel demand.
The value of a 2006-built VLCC has dropped by 15.6% over the past six months, data from VesselsValue shows.
In April, TradeWinds reported Norwegian owner Arne Fredly was offering to pay about $40m for the Bunga Kasturi Tiga. But the deal failed to materialise.
Some brokers reported the ship was sold to Indonesian interests, with the shipping arm of state oil major Pertamina named as a potential buyer.
Sources familiar with the deal said Pertamina was not directly involved. Pertamina itself could not be reached for comment.
When contacted by TradeWinds, AET denied the ship was sold to Pertamina but refrained from commenting further on the deal.
“Fleet rejuvenation is a central aspect of our business activities and long-term sustainability agenda. As and when appropriate we will share more information," the company said in an emailed statement.
Separately, brokers reported NGM Energy’s 309,200-dwt Voyager I (built 2003) was sold to a Dubai-based company for $25.5m or $26m. But TradeWinds understands the deal is not yet finalised.
Constructed by Samsung Heavy Industries, the ship is one of the handful of Greek-linked tankers briefly sanctioned by the US earlier this year for shipping Venezuelan oil.
TradeWinds reported NGM acquired it from Germany’s Dr Peters for about $42m in 2015.
Active market
Industry and brokers’ data suggests about 20 crude tankers have been sold since the beginning of September, of which more than half were built before 2010.
Those include the 105,900-dwt Minerva Zenia (built 2002), the 159,200-dwt Bastia (built 2005), and the 299,000-dwt Chryssi (built 2000) and ADS Stratus (built 2002).
With further downside of the asset markets expected in the coming quarters, market sources said many owners would be willing to sell non-modern vessels if the price is right.
“In this moment, I guess most of overage tonnage is for sale, maybe some more openly or keener than others,” said a London-based broker.
Trond Lillestolen contributed to the article.
