Product tanker giant of Singapore’s BW Group, Hafnia, has revealed a series of vessel repurchases on the back of record profit for the second consecutive year.
The Oslo-listed owner and operator of about 130 ships has exercised options to buy back five tankers tied to lease financing.
The Mikael Skov-led firm is taking back ownership of the MR vessels, Hafnia Viridian and Hafnia Violette under sale and leasebacks with Jiangsu financial leasing and a pair of handysize units Hafnia Alabaster and Hafnia Aragonite financed via CSSC (Hong Kong) Shipping deal.
The most recent exercised purchase option taken was on the 2016-built handy Hafnia Achroite also tied to a deal with CSSS Shipping.
Hafnia delivered a record profit of $793.3m in 2023, marking its highest full-year result for the second year. The company ended the year with 116 owned tankers, valued by brokers at $4.9bn.
Other product tanker owners have also taken advantage of the fundamentally sound market to release ships out of sale-and-leaseback debt. Emanuele Lauro-led Scorpio Tankers, which counts a fleet of 111 ships, has been on a massive buyback spree, with the most recent debt reduction move made through purchase options taken on four vessels financed via AVIC Leasing.
