A ship that once carried the title of the world's largest vessel is believed to have changed hands for close to $30m.

The 671,803-cbm Knock Nevis , previously known as the Jahre Viking , was originally built as a 564,000-dwt tanker in 1976, converted into a floating storage and offloading (FSO) unit in 2004 before being transformed into a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit with an increased capacity of 25%.

Most observers that TradeWinds has spoken with believe the Knock Nevis is set for another storage contract as announced by owner Fred Olsen Production at the end of last week.

The ship is said to have been sold to a Malaysian buyer.

Fred Olsen has not announced the price of the deal but market sources suggest it is marginally over the scrap price. Demolition broker GMS suggests that a tanker sold into Bangladesh for recycling would fetch $330 per ldt, equalling $27m for the Knock Nevis . Some demolition brokers have suggested that the ship will shortly be demolished.

In other scrapping news, Hong Kong Ming Wah is said to have sold the 88,000-dwt tanker New Argosy (built 1987) "as is" in Singapore for $300 per ldt or $4.8m. In August, the owner sold the 88,000-dwt New Ambition (built 1987) for scrap "as is" in Singapore for $335 per ldt.

The 11,000-ldt tug/barge ITB New York has reportedly been sold for demolition to India "as is" in Djibouti for a firm $328 per ldt or $3.6m.

The 1,100-lane-metre ro-ro Mermaid 2 (built 1972) has once again been sold for scrap, this time for in excess of $200 per ldt. In May, it was reported sold for scrap to Turkey for $182 per ldt but that deal appears to have collapsed.

The 2,098-teu containership Artemis (built 1987) is said to have been sold "as is" in the Philippines for demolition in China for $280 per ldt.

Brokers say the 467,000-cbf reefer Estia 1 (built 1981) has been sold to Indian demolition buyers for an undisclosed price. The vessel is controlled by Piraeus-based Golden Trust Carriers, which is linked to Costas Comninos. The company lists no other ships.