TANKERS

摘要

Having risen both in May and June, trading sales of existing tankers edged slightly higher again in July. From 41 deals in June (excluding units below 10,000 dwt), a further 43 sales ensued. Particular activity emerged in Aframaxes/LR2s (85-119,999dwt), with 15 such sales seen. This was in addition to continued buying interest both in the Suezmax (120-199,999dwt) and VLCC (200,000+) sectors. Early in July, the Japanese-built "Sasa" (298,628dwt, bit 2001, Hitachi) was sold to Russia's Murmansk Shipping for a reported US$40.6m. The latter had not previously been active in VLCC acquisitions, but reportedly had 5-year storage business for this unit. The "Barnes" (298,306dwt, bit 1996, Daewoo) was sold to Far Eastern buyers, seemingly for use in a conversion project, at a reported US$20/21m - a price slightly below prevailing market levels.