A decision by Greek owner Michael Tsangaris to enter the tanker business last year, when the sector was still in the doldrums, is starting to pay off big time.
His company Westport Tankers, which has bought four aframaxes since setting up shop in early 2021, is believed to have sold one of them, at a considerable profit.
According to broking sources in Athens, London and the US, the Piraeus outfit disposed of the 115,600-dwt Nicholas (built 2007) to Chinese interests for between $27m and $27.7m.
Westport acquired the ship in February, just before the Ukraine war broke out, for about $17.2m. The vessel was trading in the fleet of Zodiac Maritime then, as Taurus Sun.
Westport general manager Tsangaris did not respond to a request for comment. Market sources in Athens, however, said the company is known to have circulated some of its vessels for sale, to cash in on rising asset values.
Those values have soared in the wake of the Ukraine war and the radical shift of trade routes and opportunities created by Western sanctions against Russia.
The Japanese-built Nicholas is one of four aframaxes that Westport acquired between April 2021 and February 2022. The company, led by Tsangaris with the involvement of at least one Greek investment partner, spent just over $60m on them.
VesselsValue estimates that the quartet, built between 2002 and 2009 in South Korea and Japan, is worth $108m now.
Estoril in sale mode
Another Greek company that brokers believe to be selling an aframax in that age range is Estoril Navigation.
The Piraeus company led by Alex Karidopoulos is said to have agreed to dispose of the 115,000-dwt Blue Pride (built 2004) to undisclosed buyers for $23m.
This is not much below the price at which the Greek owner, who did not respond to a request for comment, spent to acquire the vessel from Teekay in December 2015.
The sale of the Blue Pride is characteristic of rising aframax values as well. Estoril sold another similar vessel in March for about $13.5m — the 106,400-dwt Blue Power (built 2003).
The Tsuneishi Zosen-built vessel was reported bought by Vietnamese interests.
In the weeks that followed, it emerged as Arc 1 with Singapore’s Tianjin Shipping and is currently managed by United Arab Emirates-based Vanguard Marine Ventures.
