Singapore's High Court is set to auction one of the last remaining unsold Xihe Holdings VLCCs during the first week of January.
The 318,600-dwt crude carrier Wu Yi San (built 2012) is to be sold via a sealed tender bidding process, with offers on the vessel due in on Tuesday 4 January at the Sheriff of Singapore's office.
With market analysts expecting a recovery in tanker freight rates, a modern VLCC such as the Wu Yi San is likely to attract strong buying interest, shipbroking sources told TradeWinds.
The vessel is one of a series of high-spec VLCCs that Xihe built at Jiangnan Shanghai Changxing Heavy Industries in China that have been snapped up by a variety of high-profile tanker operators since Xihe, together with affiliated companies Hin Leong Trading and Ocean Tankers, collapsed in early 2020.
A recent survey conducted by Sedgwick Singapore on behalf of the court noted that the Wu Yi San's main engine total running hours of 5,720 appeared to be very low as the vessel has largely been used as a floating storage unit since delivery.
The surveyors described the tanker as being in "fairly good physical condition" and noted that some statutory annual class surveys, machinery maintenance and overhauls are due or overdue.
The survey report also contained a list of 27 defects, the majority of which were deemed critical and would require rectification in order for the vessel to resume trading without restriction.
The Wu Yi San is estimated to be worth $46m on the secondhand market, according to a snapshot valuation by VesselsValue.
MSI Horizon puts its average value for the ongoing quarter in a higher range of between $45.4m and $51.5m.
The ship was arrested in September by Credit Agricole Asia Shipfinance, one of Xihe's larger creditors
Second VLCC auction
The Wu Yi San is one of two VLCCs that are due to be auctioned in Singapore around the same time.
On Tuesday, UK shipbroker CW Kellock revealed that pre-auction inspections were being invited for the Hermes Marine Management-controlled, 320,000-dwt Chloe V (built 2011).
The exact auction date has yet to be finalised.
The Chloe V was arrested by Koch Shipping in August over a defective scrubber installation. Mortgage holder Credit Suisse subsequently rearrested the vessel in October.
TradeWinds understands that a technical team recently carried out the necessary repairs and adjustments required to get the scrubber unit operational.
