Scorpio to sell five MR product tankers to Bahri for $166.5m

Scorpio Tankers has signed an agreement with the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia (Bahri) to sell five of its second-hand medium range (MR) tankers for about $166.5m.

The MR product tankers were built in 2014 at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea. STI Chelsea, STI Lexington, STI Mythos, STI Olivia and STI Powai are set to be sold to Bahri’s National Chemical Carriers (NCC) subsidiary.

The sale of two vessels is expected to be completed this March, while the remaining three will be sold in the second quarter of this year.

"The sale of two vessels is expected to be completed this March, while the remaining three will be sold in the second quarter of this year."

Scorpio Tankers stated that they will record a write-down of about $3.2m during the first quarter of this year in connection with the entry into this agreement.

NCC is expecting the delivery of the five vessels by 30 June 2016.

The newly acquired tankers will add to Bahri’s existing fleet of 75 vessels out of which 33 are very large crude carriers (VLCCs) and 26 are chemical tankers.

Last year, Bahri reported a 240% increase in net profit, reaching SAR1.81bn ($484m) against SAR533.8m ($142m) reported in 2014 and it had prompted the company to enhance their fleet with the five second hand MR tankers, according to worldmaritimenews.com.

Last year, Bahri had acquired several VLCCs and chemical tankers following a merger with Vela Marine International.