A recent burst of VLCC sale-and-purchase activity has once again illustrated the "disconnect" between tanker company share prices and net asset value (NAV).

Hunter Group and AET have been linked to disposals in recent days, but even declining secondhand prices serve to highlight trading discounts for publicly listed shipowners, analysts said.

Oslo-listed Hunter is said to have lined up a sale on subjects of two VLCCs — the 300,000-dwt, scrubber-fitted Hunter Laga and Hunter Saga (both built 2019) — for $84m each to state-run energy...