The tanker secondhand market segment is boiling despite spot rates dropping in the opening days of 2023. Rusty and semi-modern VLCC’s tonnage are preferred， promising short-term gain to Chinese and Middle Eastern buyers battling for available capacity.

Among the most interesting deals is the sale by Greek owner， Chandris who is cutting its VLCC arm in two， selling the 2007-built 306，000 dwt Ellinis for $55m. Splash understand the ship is tied to United Arab Emirates based Hennesea Tankers Corporation， which enters the VLCC segment with this purchase. The price tag is up by millions since the last comparable deal.

Splash is also aware of a string of other ships seeing attention while others have quietly changed hands.

Splash understands that Polaris has offloaded the 2010-built 320，000 dwt Cosmo Ace for $57.2m to Chinese buyers， while Taiwan’s Formosa Plastic Marine Corporation is selling the 20，000 dwt smaller， 2008-built FPMC C Honor， aiming to get $55m.

In a comparable deal reported six weeks ago， Nikolas Martinos-led Thenamaris was noted selling the 2005-built， 318，000 dwt Seaking for $52m.

Brokers are also reporting Chinese shipowning giant COSCO has found a Middle Eastern buyer for its 2002-built Cosgreat Lake VLCC. The 21-year-old ship managed to raise a price in the high $30m range according to Clarksons.