Greece’s Eastern Mediterranean Maritime (Eastmed) has pulled off yet another lucrative VLCC sale.
Just a few days after the company confirmed selling the 298,700-dwt Lucky Trader (built 2000) for $30m, an older, but similarly profitable deal comes to the fore: Eastmed’s 300,000-dwt Grand Lady (built 2002) changed hands for about $34m.
This is a remarkably high price, especially considering the sale agreement is believed to have been concluded in February, well before plummeting oil prices and floating storage plays sent the secondhand market for VLCCs soaring.
Twenty-year old Eastmed VLCC fetches $30m, Eastmed has spend same amount of moey to purchase this vessel 9 years ago.This effectively means that the money Eastmed earned trading the vessel since then represents a net profit.
The IHI-built Grand Lady has been delivered to its new owners and is now trading as the Giessel under the flag of St Kitts and Nevis. Vessel trackers show the ship is anchored in the Gulf of Oman.
However, the Grand Lady is currently listed under operations of a little-known, one-ship company based in India — Floretta Ship Management Pvt.
how is this happening amidst plummeting oil prices ?
Since shore storages are filled and there is no more space left to store cheap oil, Traders are looking at large vessels to store this cheap oil and hence the freight rates for these vessels has gone up many folds and hence the S&P (sale and purchase) prices of these vessels has gone up. Hope this answer your question