VLGC owner BW LPG has confirmed the sale of its fifteen-year-old BW Princess for around $64m in a strong secondhand market.
The 82,383 cum ship is expected to deliver to an undisclosed owner in the first quarter of 2024. Brokers had earlier linked the ship to a UAE buyer in a deal worth about $65m.
The Oslo-listed unit of Singapore’s BW Group said it expects a net book gain of $20m from the sale.
The company, which is set for a dual listing in the US in the second quarter of 2024, has 44 VLGCs in its fleet.
The 2010-built BW Kyoto will be delivered to BW LPG ownership in November following a purchase option declared under a time charter deal earlier this year and is set to go on a six-year time charter in the first quarter of 2024.
The company has also recently added two mid-size vessels to its overall operated fleet. The 2023-built 40,000 cu m MGCs Eco Sorcerer and Astor joined the fleet in November under time charter contracts from Greece’s StealthGas and Evalend, respectively.
Meanwhile, Singapore-headquartered Sinogas has committed its LPG dual-fuel 2021-built Gas Venus to BW LPG VLGC pool in Q4, which will lift the company’s operated VLGC fleet to 45 vessels.