Restructured South Korean bulker player Pan Ocean is looking to expand its tanker division with a return to larger tonnage.
The Seoul-based company, which currently controls 13 handymax tankers, has diversified into the aframax sector with a chartered vessel.
A source close to Pan Ocean says the company has fixed the 107,000-dwt Songa Coral (built 2006) for two years at a rate reported to be $23,000 per day.
“Pan Ocean is expanding its business and is keen to have some presence in the large tanker segment. It is starting off with aframax ships,” said the source. “It has not set a specific fleet size but for the start it is looking to control two or three aframaxes by the end of the year.”
A Pan Ocean official confirms the charter of Songa Coral and says the ship will be delivered by July.
He adds that the vessel will be relet for a year to an Asian company. The identity of the sub-charterer has not been disclosed.
Pan Ocean is familiar with operating large tankers as it used to control four VLCCs. However, it exited the sector when it went into court receivership three years ago.
As for its handymax tankers, it owns 10 medium-range (MR) products carriers, of which three are chartered units and two of those are carrying crude oil.
Formerly STX Pan Ocean, it was part of the financially troubled STX Group. It filed for court receivership in June 2013 and came out of rehabilitation last July. It was acquired by animal-feed company group Harim last May for over KRW 1 trillion ($845.6m)
Pan Ocean has been expanding under its new owner through chartered vessels and buying a resale newbuilding.
In March, it bought back a 90% finished Valemax newbuilding that was idle at now defunct STX Dalian Shipbuilding for a reported price of only $16.9m. The incomplete ore carrier was one of eight Valemaxes that STX Pan Ocean ordered against a $5bn long-term contract of affreightment (COA) with Brazilian miner Vale in 2009.
Valemax nears completion
After the collapse of STX Dalian Shipbuilding, creditors had assumed control of the ship, the final newbuilding (Hull No 1707), which was to be named the Vale Ponta de Madeira.
Pan Ocean will be using the Valemax to carry around 32 million tonnes (mt) of iron ore for Vale over the 20-year contract. The ore carrier is now in Shanhaiguan Shipyard for completion.
Pan Ocean currently controls around 200 ships, of which 79 are owned. The bulk of its business is from dry cargo, with 6% involving boxships and 9% tankers and LNG. It also has four capesizes under construction in China and Korea.
