Transocean Maritime Agencies has shown that it is committed to both wet and dry tonnage by purchasing its first tanker this year.
European shipbrokers said the Monaco-based shipowner has purchased the Japanese-controlled, 47,000-dwt Nord Inspiration (built 2010) for $15.75m.
Shipping sources familiar with the deal said the Iwagi Zosen-built MR tanker was owned by Japanese tonnage supplier Fuyo Kaiun.
The low-profile Transocean declined to comment on the reports of its latest purchase.
The price tag for the ship shows that modern Japanese-built tankers have retained value in spite of the recent freight market slump.
This is the first tanker that the company has bought since it snapped up the 46,000-dwt Glenda Meredith (built 2010) from Italy’s d’Amico Group for $19m in April 2020.
Transocean entered the tanker segment in 2018 and now owns a fleet of five MR tankers that are trading. Among them is the a sistership to the Nord Inspiration, the Andiamo (built 2009), which it purchased for $16m in 2018.
The company's bulker fleet consists primarily of kamsarmaxes built at Jinling Shipyard.
Transocean's sale-and-purchase activity has focused on the dry bulk sector this year. Last month, the company sold the 77,000-dwt Ajax (built 2006) for $10.2m. And in January, it reportedly purchased the 81,000-dwt Cyl (built 2017) for $20.6m, although the deal has not yet been confirmed.
Osaka-based Fuyo had purchased the Nord Inspiration from Eneos Ocean, the former JX Ocean, in 2019 in a deal that included a charter back to the seller. The purchase price was not known.
Sources said Fuyo sold the vessel because it was charter-free, after Eneos redelivered the tanker amid poor earnings.
