India’s Mercator has confirmed the sale of 2006-built VLCC Nerissa for $27.5m, nearly five months after it was initially reported as sold to Greece’s NGM Energy.

The Chinese-built Nerissa achieved fame when it was sold to Mercator in 2008 by Nobu Su’s TMT for $170m, one of the highest prices ever paid for a VLCC.

The vessel was reported as sold in December 2018 to NGM for a price of $34m, and by April brokers reported the sale again at a substantially lower price.

The vessel is now listed in the NGM Energy fleet on VesselsValue under the name Respect. The online valuation portal puts a fair market value on the tanker at $32.79m.

Mercator says the sale is part of its strategic plan, and funds will be used to reduce debt and other liabilities. It now has a fleet of three tankers made up of an aframax and two handy tankers.