While April was was the month for vintage VLCC sales, the beginning of May has so far been about the sale of aframaxes with plenty of ships sold to still undisclosed buyers keen to bag tonnage for a segment where daily earnings are comfortably still in excess of $30,000 a day.
Head of the pack this week is the Zodiac Maritime-managed 20-year-old 105,900-dwt Blue Sun, which VesselsValue lists as bought by UAE-based Kader Management for $8.5m. The tanker has been renamed Jubilant.
Eastern Pacific Shipping is also reported selling a sister ship, named Barents Sea, for $7.5m.
Other sales in the sector include the sale of the 16-year-old 114,000 dwt Pallas Orust, sold to Indonesian buyers for $14m.
Thenamaris-controlled Brave Maritime has also been selling, reportedly committing the 105,000 dwt Chinese-built Signal Puma (2005) for a little less than $18m with special service and dry dock freshly passed and a ballast water treatment system installed. Sales chatter also surrounds Eletson Corp’s two 2002-built 106,000 dwt aframaxes, Agathonissos and Makronissos.
Not all the sales are materialising however. Splash understands that Stealth Maritime’s 104,600 dwt CS Zephyr (2006), reported sold for just under $18m to undisclosed buyers, failed and that this vessel is now being recirculated for sale again.
