IHC's Al Seer Marine Sells Supertanker Twin Castor, Cutting Fleet Age to 3.8 Years

The deal completes a two-ship disposal that began in September, when Al Seer Marine sold the supertanker Twin Pollux. The company said that sale took place while prices for second-hand tankers were at record highs worldwide. Neither the price nor the buyer of either ship has been disclosed.

The two sales leave the company with no directly owned vessels more than 10 years old. Al Seer Marine said the average age of its directly owned fleet has fallen to about 3.8 years, from about 5.4 years before the sales. Older ships cost more to maintain and face tougher environmental and safety rules, and the company is choosing to sell them while second-hand values are high rather than run them for the rest of their working lives.

Al Seer Marine bought both tankers in 2022 in a deal it valued at AED 404 million, part of a fleet build-up at the time. Twin Castor had an expected working life of about 25 years, the company said, so it has been sold with more than half of that life left.

Chief executive Guy Neivens said the company's fleet strategy rests on owning the newest assets to stay competitive. Getting rid of older ships and keeping modern ones, he said, raises fleet efficiency, lowers maintenance costs and prepares the company for future maritime regulation. He added that Al Seer Marine is keeping its VLCC Acrux, built in 2020, so that it stays in crude oil shipping.

After the sale, Al Seer Marine wholly owns nine vessels, seven of them built between 2020 and 2025. Besides Acrux, they include medium-range product tankers and a bulk carrier. Counting ships held through joint ventures, it has a stake in 16 vessels: one crude tanker, seven medium-range product tankers, two LPG carriers, five dual-fuel very large gas carriers that can run on LPG, and one bulk carrier.

When it sold Twin Pollux in September, the company called its approach to buying and selling ships countercyclical: it sells when valuations are high and reinvests the proceeds in its commercial fleet. Neivens said at the time that "active fleet management requires discipline around both investment and divestment."

The company said the latest sale is part of a wider plan to build an efficient portfolio of marine assets and pick the best investment opportunities. Shipping is only part of its business. Al Seer Marine also has units in innovation, defence technology and yacht management. It has not said how it will use the proceeds from the two tanker sales.