Zodiac Maritime is picking up two modern product tankers from Greece’s Eletson Corp after the ships were caught in a dispute with China’s Bank of Communications Financial Leasing (Bocomm Leasing).
Several broking sources in London and Athens reported that Monaco-based Zodiac bought the 109,900-dwt Salamina (built 2019) and sistership Argironissos (built 2018) for $41m each.
Managers at Eyal Ofer-controlled Zodiac declined to comment.
Eletson managers confirmed to TradeWinds that the two ships were in the process of being divested in a straight sale. However, they said they could not identify the buyers.
The move lifts the size of Zodiac’s LR2 fleet to six vessels, all built in China. According to its website, Zodiac also owns one LR1 and five smaller MR tankers.
Last month, TradeWinds reported that Bocomm Leasing took legal action in the US against the two ships to recover unpaid charter hire by Eletson.
On 21 January, the lessor's Haotai International Ship Lease unit sought to arrest the Salamina at Galveston, Texas.
Haosheng International Ship Lease took similar action against the Argironissos on 12 February at the Eastern District of Louisiana to recover $800,000 in charter hire for the last quarter of 2020.
Bocomm Leasing is not the only lessor with which Eletson was at loggerheads.
Earlier this year, units of Cosco Shipping Leasing — part of the giant China Cosco Shipping group — arrested the 109,900-dwt Folegandros and Kastelorizo (both built 2019). The Folegandros is still off Galveston and the Kastelorizo is at Teesside oil terminal in north-eastern England.
Eletson financed the four ships with the Chinese leasing houses when they were still newbuildings at Shanghai Waigaoquiao Shipbuilding. Tanker markets were in much better shape at the time, compared to their lacklustre performance in the second half of last year.
Eletson officials previously told TradeWinds that the issues stemmed from the Covid-19 pandemic holding up the planned restructuring of their financing. The company said it was hoping to clear up the situation soon and that the vessels are in good condition.
The Chinese-financed ships have been the most modern units in Eletson's tanker fleet, which includes 14 older ships built in South Korea.
Separate subsidiary Eletson Gas owns and operates another 14 gas carriers with a combined capacity of nearly 300,000 cbm.
This article has been amended since publication to reflect that the ships were sold in a straight sale, rather than an auction.
