After a decade-long gap in the market, Maersk Tankers, the tanker operating company of the Maersk family, is rumoured to be re-entering the very large crude carrier (VLCC) market through a partnership with Schoeller's Columbia Group.
According to two anonymous sources, the two groups have formed a joint venture to acquire the Apollo Harmony, a 301,600 dwt VLCC, for around $55 million ( built in 2010).
‘The Apollo Harmony is currently owned by Idemitsu Kosan, which acquired the vessel in late 2019 from fellow Japanese shipping company K Line as the Nagaragawa ‘The transaction price was between $47 million and $48 million.
It was not immediately clear which entities were involved in the investment, and a Columbia spokesman said the company did not wish to comment at this stage. For its part, Maersk Tankers management did not immediately respond to a request for comment or provide further details.
If true, the deal would mark Maersk Tankers' first re-entry into the VLCC market in a decade. The company has been in a void in this market after selling 15 VLCCs to Euronav in 2014.
In January this year, Maersk Tankers acquired Penfield Marine, a vessel operator, and began serving as a ‘one-stop shop’ for all kinds of crude oil and refined product carriers, with a fleet of 240 tankers (from 67 pool partners), but no VLCCs.
In fact, Maersk has withdrawn from a number of shipping markets over the past decade, not just VLCCs, only to return by some coincidence. For example, Maersk Tankers was involved in the natural gas transport business in 1972 until it sold the business in 2013. But last April, the company re-entered the field.
This return of Maersk Tankers to the VLCC market shows its strategic reassessment of this market segment. Against the backdrop of volatility in the global energy market and heightened geopolitical tensions, the future course of the VLCC market is fraught with uncertainty. Returning to the VLCC market at this time is clearly a well thought out strategic move.
It is foreseeable that with the complexity of the global energy market, this layout of Maersk will have a far-reaching impact. Through the co-operation with Schoeller Group, Maersk not only enhances its penetration into the VLCC market in terms of capital and resources, but also improves its ability to cope with market fluctuations and industry transformation through the combination of strength and power. In the future market competition, Maersk's return will undoubtedly exert great pressure on other competitors, and at the same time bring new uncertainties to the industry.
https://www.cnss.com.cn/html/hyqy/20240815/354345.html
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