Three big shipping names have found buyers for their oldest VLCCs, providing further evidence that tonnage built as far back as 2001 can still be gainfully employed before being scrapped.

The youngest in that trio is the 301,000-dwt Eneos Breeze (built 2003), for which unidentified Chinese interests are said to have purchased for about $23m.

The ship, which was built at IHI Marine United, is not known to be equipped with a scrubber or ballast water treatment system (BWTS) and is due for special survey at the end of 2021.