Torm Shipping Group, one of the largest Danish oil tanker companies, has recently sold one of its oldest oil tankers. The tanker Torm Laura, built in 2008, has been transferred to Seacon Shipping Group of China for $22.5 million. This tanker, with a capacity of 50,000 deadweight tons and equipped with an exhaust gas cleaning system (scrubber), was built in Guangzhou.
Details of the Sale of Torm Laura
This transaction has not been publicly announced, but the name of the tanker Torm Laura is no longer seen in Torm's current fleet list. Another tanker named Torm Lene, which is also from the Guangzhou series, remains in the fleet and is now recognized as the oldest tanker of the company.
The sale of the Torm Laura tanker continues Torm's fleet modernization program, allowing the company to take advantage of a strong asset market and retire older vessels from its fleet. At the same time, the company continues to purchase second-hand and new ships.
Fleet Modernization and Asset Value Increase
Earlier this year, Torm delivered an LR2 tanker named Torm Maren to new owners and, in return, added two other LR2 tankers built in 2016 and an MR tanker built in 2018 to its fleet. These actions have increased the number of operational ships in the company to 97 vessels by the end of the second quarter.
Additionally, Torm has significantly strengthened its future fleet. Six new MR tankers ordered for resale will be added to the fleet between 2027 and 2028. Moreover, in August, the company confirmed that it has contracted for six more MR tankers for delivery in 2029 and has options for two additional tankers in 2030.
These tankers are associated with Changhong International Standard in Zhouzhan, where six units of 50,000 deadweight tons and two additional options are estimated at approximately $46 million each. The total value of these shipments is estimated at around $276 million.
This modernization process has coincided with a significant increase in asset values. Torm reported its fleet value at $4.06 billion at the end of June, up from $2.89 billion last year. The company also stated that the value of a similar fleet increased by $308 million in the first quarter.
