Euronav Places Bid for Five OSG Tankers

Euronav-owned Suezmax tanker, MT Maria, file image (c) Euronav

Euronav, the Belgian crude oil tanker company, has just bid for the acquisition of five tankers from Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) as part of an asset sale auction by OSG’s debtors.

According to the SEC filing, the $225 million deal, includes three very large crude carriers (VLCCs), two aframax tankers and was made under the umbrella of a joint venture between GSO Capital Partners LP and Euronav N.V. Should this bit gain acceptance from the bankruptcy court, these ships will add to the 15 recently acquired from Maersk Tankers.

OSG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November of 2012.

In a conversation with Hugo de Stoop, Euronav’s Chief Financial Officer, he notes that his company is “obviously optimistic” about the crude tanker market over the next few years. “We never try to predict the rates, as we are as bad as everyone else in doing that, however we feel the balance will be in favor of the owners this year.”

Regarding yard capacity for further physical growth of the world’s crude tanker fleet he notes that, “there is a lot of yard capacity, certainly in China, however less so in Korea.” Considering the amount of second hand tankers currently available on the market however, he sees no reason at all why a shipowner would build one.

Regarding the continued growth of his company, Stoop notes that it “depends on opportunities and prices, and we are keeping all options open.”

The names of the five tankers include:

VLCCs:
Overseas Kilimanjaro (2012)
Overseas McKinley (2011)
Overseas Everest (2010)

Aframax: (both 2009-built)
Overseas Yosemite
Overseas Yellowstone