Irish owner Ardmore Shipping has expanded its tanker fleet with the acquisition of one tanker and the chartering in of another.
The company confirmed that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 2010-built 50,093 dwt Japanese-built MR tanker for a price of $16.7m. Shipbroking sources reported that the vessel is Maersk Murotsu, sold by Japanese owner Fuyo Kaiun.
Additionally, the company agreed to charter-in a 47,981 dwt 2010 Japanese-built MR product tanker for one year at a rate of approximately $13,400 per day, plus a one-year extension option. Delivery is expected in September 2020.
According to Anthony Gurnee, CEO of Ardmore, the newly acquired vessel completed its second special survey and ballast water treatment installation in June, saving the company that cost and effectively reducing the price by $2m in addition to enabling it to trade uninterrupted until its next docking in 2023.
“The charter market is playing out as expected in reaction to underlying macroeconomic and oil market conditions, with the earlier spikes in rates followed by lows in recent weeks, and now with signals emerging that we are coming off a bottom,” Gurnee said.
Ardmore Shipping has 25 vessels in operation, including 19 MR tankers and six product tankers.
The company reported a net loss of $6.6m for the second quarter of this year. Earlier this month it rejected a takeover offer from BW’s Hafnia.
