Moroccan shipowner and operator Scorpio Tankers has been acquiring new vessels in China to advance its fleet renewal program. Two shipyards will be responsible for constructing six new vessels.
On December 16, Scorpio Tankers announced on its official website that the company has reached an agreement to sell two 2016-built LR2 product tankers and purchase two newly built LR2 product tankers.
The two newly acquired vessels are being constructed at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Company, a subsidiary of China State Shipbuilding Corporation. Each vessel has a unit cost of approximately $70.8 million, with the total order valued at around $141.6 million. The new vessels will be equipped with desulfurization systems and are scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2027.
The two vessels under sale agreement are named STI Goal and STI Gallantry, each priced at $52.3 million. They are scheduled for delivery to their new owners in the first quarter of 2026. Both vessels require a ten-year special survey and dry dock maintenance in the second quarter of 2026, meaning the associated costs will be borne by the buyer upon completion of the transaction.
Currently, the STI Gallantry is financed through a charter agreement between Scorpio Tankers and Ocean Yield, with the remaining $23.4 million in outstanding charter debt expected to be fully repaid by the end of 2025. The STI Goal is financed through a $1 billion credit facility, with a current outstanding debt balance of $13.8 million.
One month prior to the announcement of two newbuildings at Dalian Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (DSIC), Scorpio Tankers similarly acquired four newbuildings under construction at Jingjiang Nanyang Shipbuilding through a strategy of “selling ships while buying ships.”
According to previously disclosed information from Scorpio Tankers, the shipowner has sold four MR product tankers built in 2014 and equipped with desulfurization units at a price of $32 million per vessel. The vessels are expected to be delivered to the new owner in the first quarter of 2026.
The shipowner also announced the purchase of four MR product tankers equipped with desulfurization systems currently under construction at Jingjiang Nanyang Shipbuilding. Each vessel is priced at $45 million, with delivery scheduled between the second quarter of 2026 and the second quarter of 2027. These four newbuilds are resale vessels originally owned by Yangzijiang Financial Holding Ltd. (Yangzijiang Financial).
The acquisition of vessels through the “sell old, buy new” approach aligns with Scorpio Tankers’ ongoing fleet renewal strategy, which maintains the modern configuration of its fleet while optimizing capital utilization.
Notably, Scorpio Tankers recently signed a letter of intent with Hanwha Ocean for two VLCCs, each valued at approximately $128 million, with delivery scheduled for the third and fourth quarters of 2028. This marks the shipowner’s first VLCC order since exiting the crude oil sector in 2014.
According to its official website, Scorpio Tankers is a global provider of maritime services for petroleum products. The company currently owns or leases 93 product tankers, including 37 LR2 product tankers, 42 MR product tankers and 14 Handymax product tankers, with an average fleet age of 9.8 years.
Including the most recently disclosed vessels, Scorpio Tankers has reached agreements to sell three LR2 product tankers, with all transactions expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026. Regarding newbuildings, the company has four MR product tankers scheduled for delivery between 2026 and 2027; two VLCCs under letter of intent slated for delivery in the second half of 2028; and two LR2 product tankers expected to be delivered in the third quarter of 2027.