Brokers suggest the Onomichi-built unit has been acquired for $28m. UACC chief executive Per Wistoft confirms the buy but declines to comment on price. He denies that the company is also the buyer of a sistership, the Zapphire (built 2010), reported sold for $29m.

“We are in an expansionary mood, ” Wistoft said. UACC has a fleet of 16 tankers in the MR and long-range-one (LR1) segments with an average age of six.