COSCO Shipping Energy Transportation has announced that the company plans to dispose of ten elderly tankers as part of its fleet optimization program.

The vessels being disposed are made up of five VLCCs, three Suezmaxes, one Panamax and one handy tanker. The ages of the vessels are between 16 years and 18 years.

The company said the vessels have high energy costs, high greenhouse gas emissions as well as a higher risk in safety management resulting in limited profitability.

COSCO expects to gain RMB1.33bn ($205m) from the disposal of these vessels.