Tanker resale frenzy sends prices skywards

Fresh sales reported by Clarksons Research on Friday (15 May) underline the extent of the surge. Trafigura has acquired the scrubber-fitted VLCC resale newbuilding Las Palmas (306,000 dwt, built 2026 at Hengli Shipbuilding) for a price understood to be in the low $160m range, with delivery scheduled for September next year.  Meanwhile, Teekay Tankers has agreed to acquire two scrubber-fitted suezmax resale newbuildings at DH Shipbuilding for a combined $190m, or $95m each. The two 157,000 dwt vessels are due for delivery in 2027.

The deals come as tanker asset prices continue to disconnect from normal depreciation patterns amid elevated geopolitical risk and surging demand for immediate vessel availability.

According to a recent report from Signal Ocean, the ongoing Hormuz crisis has effectively inverted the tanker market’s traditional age curve.

A five-year-old VLCC is now worth $9m more than the price of a brand new vessel ordered at a Korean yard, while suezmax values have flattened entirely between modern secondhand ships and newbuildings. Aframax pricing has also moved into inversion territory.   The distortion becomes even more extreme in the resale market, where buyers are paying premiums of between 21% and 35% above standard newbuild prices simply to secure earlier delivery slots.   For VLCCs, Signal Ocean estimates resale premiums have reached as much as $45.5m above prevailing newbuild pricing.    “In normal conditions, a resale vessel earns a modest premium for saved wait time, and a five-year-old ship trades at a clear discount to a newbuild,” Signal Ocean stated. “Neither is true today.”