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George Economou bolsters his VLCC fleet

Economou Group tanker outfit TMS Tanker has snapped up a troubled VLCC from Lebanese shipowner Ghassan Ghandou’s Hermes Marine Management.

Broker sources tell Splash TMS Tanker is behind the company Navygold Maritime which won the winning bid for a 10-year-old VLCC recently sold at a judicial sale in Singapore.

The arrested VLCC has an interesting story making several headlines in the last six months. This 2012-built ship fetched $42.1m, a bargain price when compared to the market price of around $49m according to online portal VesselsValue. Brokers note that the ship has its special service overdue and that its scrubber is defective.

The 10-year-old Chloe V, built at Daewoo, has been with Hermes Marine for years. In July the crew of the VLCC sent out an SOS as they had not been paid. The vessel was first arrested by Koch Shipping over a commercial dispute.

Sources also tie George Economou to the sale of two resales reported sold by Athenian Seacarriers. These Hyundai Samho Heavy Industry VLCCs will hit the water shortly. The duo went for $98m each.

Hans Thaulow

Hans Henrik Thaulow is an Oslo-based journalist who has been covering the shipping industry for the last 15 years. As well as some work for the Informa Group, Hans was the China correspondent for TradeWinds. He also contributes to Maritime CEO magazine. Hans’ shipping background extends to working as a shipbroker trainee with Simpson, Spence & Young in Hong Kong.
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