Sinokor picks up Asyad VLCC trio

Sinokor Merchant Marine has been named as the buyer of three VLCCs that Oman’s Asyad Shipping floated for sale earlier this year.

Brokers reported the South Korean owner taking the 2010-built Saham and 2011-built Sifa and Fida in a deal worth a total of around $191m.

Online pricing platform VesselsValue ranks the scrubber-fitted trio as worth around $196.7m.

Sinokor is currently listed on VesselsValue with 11 VLCCs built between 2007 and 2019, while the subsidiary of the state-owned Asyad Group says on its website it controls 17 of such supertankers, with the youngest unit built in 2020.

The prices of ageing VLLC tannage have seen a downward trend compared to deals struck earlier this year. End-June, Saudi Arabia’s top shipping line, Bahri, offloaded its 2003-built Lulu for $42.5m, while South Korea’s SK Shipping sold the same-aged C.Champion in July for $37.8m. In March, Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines offloaded a two-year younger Yufusan to Chinese owner Polar Star Management for $52m.