John Fredriksen-led Ship Finance International has confirmed that it offloaded its oldest tanker — but the buyer remains unknown.
As TradeWinds previously reported, the Norwegian shipowner announced the $20.7m sale of the 300,000-dwt Front Ariake (built 2001) to an unnamed, but unrelated, company midday Tuesday.
The deal includes a $3.4 million interest-bearing loan note from sister company Frontline. The book value of the 17-year-old Front Ariake is $27.6m, New York-listed Ship Finance said.
The sale is expected to be booked in the third quarter.
"Divesting of older vessels is part of Ship Finance’s strategy to continuously renew and diversify the fleet," the company's financial filing read.
News of the sale was broken by TradeWinds earlier this month. It was thought Malaysian shipowner Bumi Armada was the buyer, but that company denied the purchase.
It remains to be seen whether the tanker is set for demolition, the spot market or conversion.
The deal leaves Ship Finance International with four tankers, all on charter to a subsidiary of Frontline.
