Stolt Tankers has bought its youngest ships in a deal potentially worth upwards of $50m.
The Netherlands-based chemical tanker division of Oslo-listed Stolt-Nielsen said two modern 15,000-dwt stainless steel vessels built in 2018 and 2019 have been added for inter-Caribbean services.
The company will rename them Stolt Condor and Stolt Tucan but did not reveal their current identities. Delivery will be in the next quarter.
Brokers identified the tankers as the 15,100-dwt Turkish-built Chemical Atlantik (built 2018) and Preveze 1 (built 2019).
The former has been acquired from Atlantik Denizcilik of Turkey, with a special survey due.
The ownership of the Preveze 1 is not clear. UK shipbroker Clarksons lists the ship as also owned by Atlantik, but VesselsValue reported it sold to unknown interests in January 2022. Equasis lists it as under the control of Uni-Tankers in Denmark.
Prices have not been disclosed.
Asset values rising
VesselsValue assesses the Chemical Atlantik as worth $26.7m, up from $22m a year ago, and the other ship at $27.6m, versus $23m this time last year.
“Sustainability is an integral feature of Stolt Tankers’ strategy, and these modern ships will be retrofitted with propeller boss cap fins,” Stolt Tankers said.
They will also be fitted with variable frequency drives, torque thrust meters and KWh meters to make them more fuel efficient and lower their carbon footprint.
President Lucas Vos said: “This acquisition is an excellent opportunity for Stolt Tankers to secure attractively priced on-the-water tonnage in a firming chemical tanker market.
“These are modern, fuel-efficient ships and will further lower the age profile of our fleet. We are delighted to offer our best-in-class platform to more clients in the inter-Caribbean market and expand the reach of our high-quality service offering.”
The shipowner has admitted it has an ageing fleet but is holding off from newbuildings.
Part of its fleet still dates from the 1990s, while nothing is newer than 2018.
Last year, it bought three handysize chemical carriers from Japan’s K Line, built in 2012 and 2013.
