Velos Tankers — led by Greek owner Paschalis Diamantides — has resumed its expansion with the purchase of a 15-year-old MR tanker from Hafnia.
Velos managers confirmed purchasing the 40,000-dwt Hafnia Green (built 2007), which is trading as Velos Topaz in the spot market.
The Greek company declined to comment on the price. Brokers reported the Saiki-built ship as sold last month to unidentified interests for about $11.9m.
The transaction agreed during Posidonia is emblematic of the growth of the company, which was set up from scratch less than three years ago.
“We’re expanding, both in ships and in personnel,” Diamantides told TradeWinds.
Velos has already taken full technical management of most of the nine product tankers it bought on the secondhand market since late 2019.
According to Diamantides, the company expects to soon assume technical management over its entire fleet of five MRs, three LR1s and one LR2.
The Greek owner feels vindicated in his chartering strategy, which saw Velos’ initial purchases in secure, long-term charters with counterparties such as Clearlake during the tanker bear markets.
With MR earnings moving up in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, the ships now benefit from higher spot rates that seem to have whetted Diamantides’ buying appetite.
The Hafnia Green was Velos’ first acquisition in eight months.
This was not the only MR that Singapore-based Hafnia sold to Greeks recently.
More deals
In an earlier deal, Kourtesis family company Sea Hawk Maritime bought the sistership Hafnia Victoria, which has been renamed Prelude.
Hafnia has been Sea Hawk’s exclusive source for ships since the company, previously a bulker player, turned its attention to tankers in December 2021.
As reported by TradeWinds, Sea Hawk purchased another pair of sisterships to the Hafnia Victoria — the Hafnia Karava and Hafnia Hope.
“These have turned out to have been very good vessels,” said Sea Hawk manager Mihalis Kourtessis, whose company has also assumed technical management of the vessels while leaving them to trade in a Hafnia pool.
Sea Hawk, however, leaves its options open to buy tankers from different sellers in the future.
Brokers report that Hafnia sold yet another Saiki-built MR last month — the somewhat older 40,000-dwt Hafnia Rainier (built 2004) — to undisclosed buyers for about $10m.
Among other Greek buyers that emerged with purchased MRs recently is IMS, which pounced on the 42,700-dwt Valle di Navarra (renamed Sugar, built 2002) in a $6m deal reported by brokers in May.
Sea Trade Marine and SR Navigation are now listed, respectively, with the 46,000-dwt Prime Express (renamed Prime V, built 2010) and the 46,000-dwt Sunlight Express (built 2011), which Japan’s Yamamaru Kisen is believed to have sold for about $33m in total.
Finally, low-profile R Shipping seems to have made a comeback on the secondhand scene after several years.
IHS Markit lists the Athens-based company as new manager of the 47,800-dwt Challenge Pegasus (renamed Grace Fortuna, built 2007) — a ship reported sold by NYK Line in April for about $13m — and the 51,400-dwt Falcon Nostos (renamed Grace Lucrum, built 2006), which Falcon Navigation sold in May at about the same price.
