The Gotsis family-controlled Greek shipowner Eurotankers has sold another very large crude carrier (VLCC).
Equasis data shows that Eurotankers has sold the 310,000 DWT VLCC Eurotrader, built in 2008, to a Chinese shipowner and renamed it Celeste.
Although the transaction price has not been disclosed, Xclusiv Shipbrokers currently values a 15-year-old VLCC at approximately US$58 million, which is on par with the same period last year.
This is Eurotankers’ second VLCC transaction this year. In April, the shipowner sold the 2007-built VLCC Eurohope, renamed Senhub, for just over $46 million, also to a Chinese shipowner. In comparison, a 2006-built VLCC was sold for $42 million last month, while an older 2003-built VLCC changed hands for $37 million.
According to Equasis data, Eurotankers currently operates a fleet of 10 tankers and bulk carriers. Following recent sales, the company now has only two VLCCs remaining: the Eurovictory, built in 2009, and the Eurospirit, built in 2011.
Shipbroker BRS Shipbrokers noted in its latest monthly report that at least eight VLCCs changed hands in June this year, with construction years ranging from 2003 to 2018. The most notable transaction came from Enesel, which sold its Papalemos for US$107 million, a rare high-value transaction in the current VLCC second-hand market.
Allied Shipbroking reported that 26 VLCCs have changed hands so far this year, with an average age of 17 years. In comparison, a total of 54 VLCCs changed hands in all of 2024, with an average age of 13 years.
In the broader tanker market, the second quarter of 2025 was the busiest quarter since the third quarter of 2024. BRS Shipbrokers recorded a total of 144 tanker transactions, up from 113 in the first quarter of 2025 and higher than the 131 transactions in the fourth quarter of 2024.