Japanese shipping giant Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has sold the 2008-built Very Large Crude Carrier (VLCC) M Star for about $46.7 million, according to multiple shipbroker sources. The buyer’s information was not disclosed. This is the first time MOL has sold a VLCC in more than two years.
In July 2010, the M Star was damaged by an explosion while passing through the Strait of Hormuz, which was later determined to be a terrorist attack.
The S&P database shows that MOL last sold a VLCC in March 2023, when it sold the 2005-built “Yufusan” to Polar Star Management for US$52 million. It has now been renamed “Seeker 8”.
In terms of deadweight tons, MOL owns more than 20 VLCCs and has six liquefied natural gas (LNG) dual-fuel VLCC newbuildings delivered by Dalian COSCO KHI Ship Engineering Co Ltd.(DACKS) between 2025 and 2028.
In related news, MOL has announced on May 23 that it has placed an order with DACKS for an additional LNG dual-fuel VLCC, which is scheduled for delivery in 2027 under a long-term charter contract with Japanese owner Idemitsu Tanker. The cost of the VLCC has not been disclosed.
So far this year, there have been more than 40 VLCC transactions in the second-hand ship market.
Recently, Maran Tankers, a subsidiary of Greece’s Angelicoussis Shipping Group, sold its 320,500 dwt “Maran Canopus” built in 2007 for US$50 million, while another Greek shipowner, Okeanis Eco Tanker, also traded three VLCCs built between 2020 and 2022.