Frontline offloads five oldest VLCCs

Front Endurance was built at Daewoo in 2009, Front Kathrine and Front Queen were both built at SWS in 2009. SWS also built Front Cecilie and Front Signe in 2010, and Front Loki, Front Odin, and Front Thor were all built at Rongsheng in 2010.

The sale and delivery of Euronav’s 24 VLCCs will bring the Frontline fleet to 84 vessels with an average age of 5.9 years, comprising 41 VLCCs, 25 Suezmaxes and 18 LR2/Aframax tankers.

Frontline said the vessels are expected to be delivered to the new owner in the first quarter 2024. Net cash proceeds from the sale of the vessels after repayment of debts is expected to be around $207m, with between $68m to $76m expected to be recorded in Q1 depending on delivery dates.

Lars H. Barstad,ceo of Frontline Management AS, said: “We are very pleased with this transaction, capturing firm pricing for 14-15 year old vessels. Frontline has increased its position significantly in the VLCC segment during 2023 and this divestment of our remaining non-eco VLCCs is in line with our strategy of running the most modern, fuel-efficient fleet in the market.”   

The sale remains subject to closing conditions.