Thenamaris has used 2022 to offload 12 ageing tankers in secondhand deals worth more than $250m, according to available data and shipbroking sources.
Nearly half of these deals are believed to have taken place in November and December.
This late spurt rewards the Greek shipping giant for its patience, as tanker values never stopped rising after Russia invaded Ukraine in February.
The sales have raised Thenamaris about $265m, according to TradeWinds’ calculations based on broker estimates and reports.
These funds come in handy for company principal Nikolas Martinos, who is spending considerable sums in renewing the fleet through the acquisition of younger tankers and newbuildings.
Since September, Thenamaris’ tanker fleet additions included J Ludwig Mowinckels Rederi’s 158,900-dwt Vinga (renamed Seabliss, built 2012) and Unisea’s 157,700-dwt Aquavirtue (renamed Seagrace, built 2022).
As far as the company’s tanker sales are concerned, TradeWinds has already reported several of them over the course of the year.
In the biggest of them, not confirmed by Thenamaris yet, the company is said to have disposed of the 318,700-dwt scrubber-fitted Seaking (built 2005) — one of its two oldest VLCCs — for about $51.5m.
Several other deals, however, remained below the radar and they concern aframaxes.
The 106,500-dwt Sealoyalty (renamed Sea 1, built 2005) was sold for about $30m and has emerged in the managed fleet of India’s Gatik Ship Management.
In another deal, the 107,100-dwt Seachance (renamed Lyra, built 2004) is now trading with clients of China’s Coureage Co.
More recently, Thenamaris is believed to have raised $35m from the sale of the 114,500-dwt Seatrust (built 2004) and about $27m from divesting the 105,000-dwt Seaborn (renamed Marathon, built 2005).
Both canny and lucky
Thenamaris’ shrewdness in secondhand deals notwithstanding, the company also seems to have had quite a bit of luck.
Its tanker sale strategy in 2022 doesn’t seem too different from what Thenamaris managers were doing anyway in recent years — offloading tankers when they reach the age of 18 or 19 years.
There is one exception, however. Two of the four MRs it sold recently were a little younger, which suggests that it may have rushed to divest them to benefit from rising prices.
In one recent case, the 53,700-dwt Seabreeze (built 2007) was reported sold to undisclosed Greek buyers for between $19.6m and $20m.
The 46,200-dwt Seabright (renamed Vasso, built 2006) was sold a bit earlier, in September, to Greece’s Holger Navigation for $18m.
The tankers Thenamaris sold have been scooped up by a diverse range of buyers, highlighting how widespread the craze for such ships is in current markets.
Unsurprisingly, several are now trading under jurisdictions not bound by Western sanctions against Russia — mainly China, India and Turkey.
Apart from Gatik, such buyers include Hong-Kong based Thea Stewart, which picked up the 105,900-dwt Seagrace (renamed Thea, built 2004), as well as Turkey’s Beks, which acquired the 40,000-dwt Seaexplorer (renamed Beks World, built 2003).
Buyers of Thenamaris ships, however, also include Greek interests or companies known to be trading ships in the Americas, such as Peru’s Transgas Shipping, which acquired the 39,400-dwt Seamerit (renamed Chavin, built 2002).
