Seacon offloads modern MR1 product tanker in $36m deal with Union Maritime
Hong Kong-listed Seacon Shipping is selling a bareboat chartered modern chemical and oil products carrier to UK bulker and tanker player Union Maritime.
The 2022 Fujian Mawei-built Golden Lavender has fetched $36m, with ship pricing platform VesselsValue estimating the 34,827 dwt unit at about $32.9m.
Seacon said it would first buy the vessel out of its bareboat agreement, before delivering it to Union Maritime by the end of June. Last year, Seacon picked up a pair of 2012 Taizhou Sanfu-built 16,800 dwt tankers for $28m via a two-year plus one-year option leaseback deal with Union Maritime.
The Qingdao-based company has been working to expand its footprint in the tanker segment with several recent newbuild orders at domestic shipyards, but the latest move has been described as being in line with the ongoing strategy to optimise the fleet by “maintaining a well-balanced portfolio”.
Tanker asset prices have been firming across most sectors, with secondhand and newbuilding values at their highest levels in the last 15 years amid strong market fundamentals. Seacon said its move represented an opportunity to dispose of the vessel “at a reasonable price,” adding that the net proceeds from the disposal should enable the company to bolster its working capital and provide funding for the acquisition of new vessels.
