Pantheon Tankers, led by Anna Angelakis, has sold the 15-year-old oil tanker Sea Leopard for $135 million to undisclosed buyers. This tanker, with a capacity of 314,000 tons and built by DSME in 2011, is among the largest second-hand tanker transactions reported last week.
A Deal Above the Newbuilding Benchmark
According to reports, Pantheon has not yet announced this deal, and the tanker is still listed in the company's online fleet. Earlier in September, Clarkson estimated the newbuilding cost of a VLCC tanker at around $131 million, meaning Pantheon has received more for a 15-year-old tanker than the announced price for building a new tanker that will be delivered a few years later.
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Upward Trend in Tanker Values
Signal Ocean has recorded a similar reverse trend across the age curve. At the end of August, the value of five-year-old tankers was estimated at $151.1 million compared to $130.2 million for a new tanker, while the value of 15-year-old tankers has increased by 61% compared to last year. The speed of the new price changes is clearly demonstrated by Frontline. Last July, the company sold two VLCC tankers built in 2017 for $270 million, equivalent to $135 million per tanker, which Pantheon has now achieved for a six-year-older tanker.
Movement Towards Innovation in the Fleet
The Sea Leopard tanker also represents another significant step by Pantheon compared to its previous sale. The company sold its older tanker, Caesar, built in 2009 with a capacity of 318,441 tons, in February for around $70 million. As a result, Sea Leopard is now recognized as the oldest tanker in Pantheon's operating fleet.
This increase in asset values occurs amid extraordinary VLCC revenues and rising recent tensions in Middle Eastern oil flows. Signal estimated VLCC revenues on the Gulf-Singapore route at around $702,000 per day in early September. Since then, the shutdown of the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia has led to more oil returning to Gulf export routes, while security concerns have limited the supply of existing tankers.
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