Concordia Maritime Sells Suezmax Tanker Stena Supreme

Concordia Maritime announced on Wednesday it has entered into an agreement for the sale of the 158,000 dwt Suezmax tanker Stena Supreme. Delivery is expected in June 2022.

The 2012-built Stena Supreme has been bareboat chartered in by Concordia Maritime since 2016, under a sale and leaseback arrangement, from "one of Japan’s largest shipping companies", Concordia Maritime said. The contract contains annual purchase options, which Concordia Maritime has now elected to exercise.

The vessel has been employed in the spot market through the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool, and its sale will have a positive liquidity effect of approximately $4 million, Concordia Maritime said.

Unlike the P-MAX vessels, the transaction and proceeds from the sale of Stena Supreme are not subject to any special conditions from the lending banks. The surplus will strengthen Concordia Maritime’s cash position, the company said.

According to Concordia Maritime, the price has been slightly affected by the vessel being sold in an undocked condition. Stena Supreme was due for a scheduled 10-year docking during 2022 at the latest.

“The sale is part of the process of strengthening the Company’s financial position – but the timing is also spot on. Tonnage prices have increased in the first quarter of 2022, which is clearly reflected in the price. In addition, the record weakness of the yen also adds further leverage. Overall, we are satisfied with the transaction and the price. We are cautiously optimistic in our view of the market going forward, although we still cannot rule out further measures unless we see a more sustained recovery in the tanker transport market,” said Concordia Maritime CEO Erik Lewenhaupt.