Norden jumps on tanker fleet expansion bandwagon

Catogory : Announcements

NORDEN is taking advantage of low product tanker prices by expanding its fleet for the first time since last year amid a feverish climate of tanker consolidation and fleet expansion.
The Danish company declined to reveal to Lloyd’s List the details of the purchase, such as the price paid and to whom.
A spokesman would go no further than confirming that Norden has bought a 2009-built medium range product tanker with a cargo capacity of 50,000 tonnes. The South Korean-built vessel is expected to be delivered in July 2017 and will be renamed Nord Pearl.
Clarksons quotes a 10-year-old MR tanker at $17m, down from $20m at the start of 2016.
The purchase follows hot on the heels of a momentous move by product tanker rival Scorpio Tankers, which announced it was merging with Navig8 Product Tankers to create a more muscular 105-strong fleet.
Asked whether Norden had ambitions to expand further against such a busy backdrop of consolidation and fleet growth, the spokesman directed Lloyd’s List to the company’s latest report in May, which stated that Norden “will seek to further increase the exposure as opportunities arise”.
Norden, which has a 36-strong product tanker fleet, appears to be following the type of strategy outlined in recent comments by d’Amico International Shipping chief executive Marco Fiori.
On a webinar last week, Mr Fiori said owners would be well advised to buy secondhand tankers aged seven to ten years, rather than expand fleets through newbuildings. “That’s the segment people should be looking to invest in,” said Mr Fiori.
The purchase of Nord Pearl marks Norden’s first tanker acquisition since last year, Norden said.
In addition to the purchase of Nord Pearl, Norden has entered into long-term charter agreements for two MR product tanker newbuildings and has thus concluded four MR product tanker newbuilding charters so far this year. The vessels are scheduled to be delivered in 2018-2020. All agreements are with purchase options.
Jan Rindbo, chief executive of Norden, said: “In the wake of the weakening market, Norden has taken advantage of the reduced tonnage prices to increase our capacity and exposure at attractive cost levels.”
He added: “We can do this in the comfort of having an excellent product tanker operating arm in the form of Norient Product Pool, and benefit from the premium earnings they generate.”