The Belgian tanker operator says the 318,700-dwt Ardenne Venture(built 2004) fetched $41.7m.
In a statement Euronav indicated it will book a capital gain of $2.2m at the time of delivery, which is due to occur between mid-December and the start of February 2013.
“The net cash proceeds available to Euronav after the mandatory repayment of its debt obligation will be $10.2m,” the company added.
While Euronav did not shed light on the size of Wah Kwong’s capital gain or identify the buyer, Sinokor of South Korea was tipped as the counterparty in questionwhen the transaction first started to take shape.
The price tag tied to the VLCC is slightly higher than the $39.3m the VesselsValue.com valuation platform believes the unit to be worth in today’s market but well above the $33m estimate Compass Maritime Services puts on ships of a similar age.
It’s unclear if the new owner of the Ardenne Venture with continue to trade the unit in the Tankers International pool, which has seen the size of its fleet decline steadily over the past year due in part to an initiative aimed at reducing its overall age profile.
Some market sources claim it has been fixed out to a South Korean energy company for five years at Worldscale (WS) 43.5, which amounts to roughly $21,300 per day if the calculation was made using the route from the Arabian Gulf to South Korea.
