Teekay LNG Partners is set for an exit from the suezmax tanker segment.
US brokers said the New York-listed shipowner, a spin-off of Vancouver's Teekay Corp, has sold the 151,000-dwt European Spirit and African Spirit (both built 2003) for $13m each.
Greek brokers have named Avin International as the new owner of the African Spirit, while no information has emerged on potential buyers' of the European Spirit.
Managers at Avin, which has already purchased two other suezmaxes of about the same age earlier this year, declined to comment to TradeWinds on whether their company has acquired either of the two Teekay ships, or even both.
VesselsValue says the Hyundai Heavy Industries-built tankers are worth $14m each, while rival Maritime Strategies International puts their value at $15.1m to $17.2m each. They are both due for special survey in November.
Teekay declined to comment on reports of the transaction.
Demolition value
The wholly owned tankers have an estimated scrap value of about $10m. Teekay bought the vessels from Tosco of China for $51m each in 2001.
Until last year, Teekay LNG Partners also had two chartered suezmax tankers.
The 159,000-dwt Teide Spirit (built 2004) was on charter from another Teekay unit, but it was sold to Eurotankers of Greece for $18.8m in November and is now trading as Eurodignity.
The DSME-built sistership Toledo Spirit (built 2005) has been on charter from Cepsa of Spain, but this charter is now understood to have expired and the tanker has been marketed for sale. It will be inspectable in Huelva, Spain, where it is due to arrive at the end of next week.
Teekay Corp is this year concluding some rejigging of its fleet. In August, Teekay Tankers sold six modern aframaxes to Maritime Asset Partners. The price was not disclosed.
In June, Teekay Shuttle Tankers sold the 124,000-dwt Navion Britannia (built 1998) for demolition. Last week, TradeWinds reported that the 151,000-dwt shuttle tanker Stena Spirit (built 2001), owned on a 50:50 basis with Stena Bulk of Sweden, was sold for scrap.
Teekay told TradeWinds that the company has not decided what to do with a wholly owned sistership, the Nordic Spirit (built 2001). Both tankers have dynamic positioning capabilities and have come off charters to Petrobras.
