Monaco-based product tanker giant Scorpio Tankers is offloading five of its oldest MR vessels for about $179m.
The Emanuele Lauro-led New York-listed firm has struck a deal with three separate buyers for the 2012-built STI Garnet, STI Onyx, STI Ruby, and STI Topaz at $142.5m in total and also agreed to the sale of the 2013-built STI Beryl for $36.6m.
All ships are debt-free and are expected to change hands in the third quarter of this year.
Scorpio currently owns or leases 108 product tankers, 55 of which are MRs. Six ships are set to exit the fleet, including the 2015-built STI Manhattan, which was agreed to be sold in May for $40.8m.
The company’s MR and LR2 units currently average 8.2 years, while its handymax ships average 9.6 years. Once the latest transactions close, the oldest tankers in Scorpio’s fleet will be those built in 2014.