Bermuda-based tanker owner Nordic American Tankers (NAT) has sold three more Suezmax tankers built in 1997, bringing the total number of vessels sold over the recent past to eight.
These transactions will bring a cashflow close to USD 80 million, NAT said.
All the eight ships were 20 years old or older and their disposal has resulted in reducing the average age of the NAT vessels to about 10 years.
The first five Suezmaxes were sold for scrap, according to the data from VesselsValue, and they include 1998-built Nordic Discovery, Nordic Fighter, Nordic Jupiter and Nordic Saturn and 1997-built Nordic Voyager.
Data on the buyer of the subsequent three tankers have not been disclosed.
“The actions described above show that we have the ability to move swiftly, showing the flexibility inherent in NAT,” the company said.
Following the sale of the Suezmax batch, the company’s fleet is reduced to 25 ships.
NAT has three more newbuildings under construction at South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries which are scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2018.
“As in the past, our policy is to grow the company. Before selling eight vessels, we had 33 vessels in NAT. In a year, two or three, we expect that the number of NAT ships may be much higher than 33, ” NAT added.
“Growth is necessary to retain the dynamics and to provide a basis for a continued friendly dividend policy.”
As disclosed, the company’s fleet is ready to reap the fruits from the tanker market’s expected recovery.