John Fredriksen’s Frontline has confirmed the disposal of its five oldest VLCCs.
The New York- and Oslo-listed tanker giant will be shipping out the units built in 2009 and 2010, to an unnamed buyer during the first quarter of 2024.
The deal worth $290m is expected to generate net cash proceeds of about $207m, with a first-quarter gain of between $68m to $76m, depending on the delivery dates.
Industry sources, which had previously valued the deal at around $300m, have linked South Korea’s Sinokor to the 2009-built Front Endurance, Front Kathrine and Front Queen and the 2010-built Front Signe and Front Cecilie.
“We are very pleased with this transaction, capturing firm pricing for 14-15 year-old vessels,” said Lars Barstad, CEO of Frontline, adding: “Frontline has increased its position significantly in the VLCC segment during 2023 and this divestment of our remaining non-eco VLCCs is in line with our strategy of running the most modern, fuel-efficient fleet in the market.”
Frontline will have 84 tankers with an average age of just under six years after this and the 24-ship Euranav transactions are closed.
