Greek shipowners are targeting tankers transporting oil products in the secondary market, while charters specifically for MR type tankers have “climbed” to an 11-year high.
In the last week, Greek shipowners have reportedly been behind deals to acquire five product tankers, according to the latest domestic shipping sources.
These are three separate agreements involving two 2018-built LR2 tankers of 109,999 dwt capacity each, one 2015-built MR2 vessel of 49,999 dwt capacity, and two smaller 2009-built MRs of 37,791 dwt capacity each. The total value of these deals exceeds 212 million US dollars.
Greek shipowners have until now primarily held a seller’s position in the tanker market, benefiting from the spectacular rise in values experienced by this sector. But now they are returning as buyers to take advantage of the momentum in the freight market.
Tankers of this type have been almost monopolizing the buying and selling activity lately. According to data shared with “Naftemporiki” by the shipping brokerage George Moundreas & Company S.A., Greek shipowners were involved in January 2024 in the purchase and sale of 46 tankers, of which 29 can transport oil products.
“MR2 tankers dominated last week’s activity as a total of six vessels changed hands, accounting for 50% of total tanker sales,” Xclusiv Shipbrokers noted.
