Tanker company Euronav NV has sold its very large crude carrier (VLCC) Flandre for $45 million to an unnamed global supplier and operator of offshore floating platforms.
The 2004-built Flandre is wholly owned by Euronav and, following the recent sale of the 2001-built Artois, it is the oldest vessel in the company’s VLCC fleet.
The company said on Tuesday that a capital gain of approximately $20.3 million on the sale would be recorded in the current quarter.
The vessel is expected to be delivered in December 2017 and will be converted in an FPSO by its new owner and will therefore leave the worldwide VLCC trading fleet.
Paddy Rodgers , CEO of Euronav said: “This is a remarkable accomplishment for Euronav and simultaneously achieves two key objectives for the company.
“Firstly, it profitably assists our fleet renewal program by reducing the age of our fleet and will allow capital to be recycled into modern tonnage. Secondly, this is the seventh vessel we have successfully introduced into an offshore project, further demonstrating our reputation for providing high quality operational tonnage for the offshore sector.”