DHT Holdings, a pure-breed VLCC owner, has transitioned its VLCC fleet to exclusively Korean-built vessels by offloading its final Chinese-built tanker.
Last week, Splash reported that the New York-listed company was selling a 2011-built VLCC with broking sources indicating that the 320,000 dwt DHT Lotus, built by Bohai Shipbuilding Heavy Industry, had fetched nearly $55m. Now, Splash understands that a sister ship, DHT Peony, has been sold at the same price level. The sale price aligns with VesselValue’s market estimate of $54.47m for such a vessel.
DHT is the first VLCC owner known to have sold off all Chinese-built ships following US signals that Chinese-built tonnage could face pricey penalties when calling at American ports. The deal leaves the outfit with 21 supertankers in the water and four VLCCs on order.
The US Trade Representative (USTR) has been holding a public hearing into China’s dominance in shipbuilding this week discussing potential fees of up to $1.5m per US port call for Chinese-built vessels, $1m per port call for operators of Chinese-built ships, and mandatory US-flag shipping requirements.
Most operators, unlike DHT, have in their fleet one or more ships of Chinese origin meaning that when calling at a US port, they would be subject to a port fee.
“An outright rush to sell Chinese-built ships has not happened, though this depends on how the proposal moves forward,” investment bank Jefferies suggested in a shipping update.
A submission to the USTR from BIMCO, the largest direct entry membership organisation in the shipping industry, noted that a fee of $1,000 per net tonnage on a 300,000 dwt VLCC is more than $100m per port call.
