Greek shipowner Evangelos Marinakis has sold a fleet of nine VLCCs to Bahri in a $1bn deal.

The national shipping carrier of Saudi Arabia said the transaction, its second major VLCC fleet swoop in four months, significantly advanced its fleet modernisation plans.

“The main purpose of this acquisition is to enable Bahri to streamline the process of phasing out older vessels in the fleet going forward,” Bahri told investors.