Zodiac Maritime has boosted its position in the VLCC segment with the purchase of a ship that was formerly in the fleet of Brightoil Petroleum.

The Eyal Ofer-controlled company is said to have bought the 320,000-dwt Brightoil Galaxy (built 2012) at auction in Hong Kong for $61.5m.

Zodiac director David Ofer said: “We do not comment on commercial S&P [sale-and-purchase] matters in regards to Eyal Ofer’s Zodiac Maritime group.”