New York-listed Scorpio on Wednesday described the vessel as a newbuilding due for delivery by the end of April but declined to identify it by name.
In a statemen, it told investors the ship will be chartered-in for two years at a rate of $14,121 per day in a deal that includes an option for another year at $15,504 daily.
Upon delivery, Scorpio says it will be chartered out to a third party for up to 80 days at $22,850 per day.
Observers say the terms of the initial contract suggest that the vessel may have been hire to transport palm oil from the Far East to the West and will likely trade in the Atlantic Basin upon completion.
The rate tied to the maiden voyage, according to shipbrokers, is in line or slightly lower than the current market average, which leads them to believe that the ship does not boast the same fuel efficiency features that have become the signature of Scorpio’s fleet of wholly owned newbuildings.
In March of last year, Scorpio made TradeWinds headlines when it chartered the 50,550-dwt Freja Lupus (built 2012) from Lauritzen Tankers of Denmark for $14,760 per day with an option for a third year at $16,000 daily.
The 50,300-dwt newbuilding Freja Libra, one the three tankers in the Danish owner’s orderbook due for delivery in 2013, matches the description of the unit tied to Scorpio’s latest conquest, which has fuelled speculation that it may be the ship tied to the group’s latest conquest.
Scorpio is based in Monaco and Manhattan where it oversees a fleet that includes 13 owned products tankers with an average age of 4.6 years, 26 newbuildings scheduled for delivery at various intervals this year and next plus 20 units that are chartered-in.
Today, the market is rife with rumours that more orders are in the works and could be sealed by as early as this week but the owner’s rapid expansion campaign has made it difficult to separate fact from fiction.
