Martinos family companies Minerva Marine and Eastern Mediterranean (Eastmed), two of the world’s biggest aframax owners, are believed to be offloading their oldest vessels in the segment.

The news comes amid a falling number of secondhand tanker deals that sets some brokers thinking whether the sale-and-purchase market is running out of steam in the sector.

Andreas Martinos-controlled Minerva has concluded an en bloc sale of two aframaxes to unidentified buyers in the Middle East, according to several brokers in Athens and the US.