London: In reporting its best quarterly results since 2008, tanker giant Euronav has made clear it is in the market to grow its VLCC fleet.
Paddy Rodgers, CEO of Euronav, said: “With the oil price down and demand up, tankers are benefiting. Ships on the water now can pay dividends now to reward shareholders for the support and confidence”.
The company notched up an $80.9m in the first quarter, a dramatic improvement over the $1.4m profit in the same period in 2014.
Discussing the results in conference call, Rodgers said: “There could be a real advantage in growing the fleet.” This would be through secondhand buys – Rodgers was adamant that he and other tanker owners should not be ordering new ships as that might upset the delicate supply/demand balance in the VLCC trades.
Rodgers said that approximately one in ten VLCCs trading today are up for sale.
