Norden Bets on Tankers as It Sets Sights on IMO 2020 Opportunities

Danish shipping company Dampskibsselskabet Norden A/S is starting 2020 with a bolstered tanker fleet.

The company revealed that it had sold a Handysize tanker, which was delivered to its new owners in late November 2019, and that it purchased two MR tankers, which were delivered at the end of December 2019.

Based on the data from VesselsValue, the latest ships bought by Norden are two MR1 tankers: the 2014-built Nord Gardenia and the 2008-built Nord Snow Queen, both built by CSSC Offshore and Marine Engineering, GSI, Guangzhou Shipyard.

The two ships are valued at USD 22 million and UD 13 million respectively.

The purchase was driven by the company’s expectation for a positive outlook for tankers, amid continued strong market well into 2020 as refineries increase production to deliver the compliant fuels necessary for the IMO 2020 global sulphur regulation.

Specifically, the reduction in the global limit for sulphur emissions from 3.5% to 0.5% that entered into force on January 1, 2020, and the accompanying shift in marine fuel consumption has led to higher trade volumes of clean petroleum products. The trend is expected to continue further benefitting the product tanker market.

“We are driven by the opportunities we see in the market,” says CEO Jan Rindbo of the continued sale and purchase activity, and adds, “In order to remain an agile and trading oriented company, it is vital to continuously optimise our fleet.”

Norden operates 59 tankers through the Norient Product Pool consisting of 23 owned vessels, 23 chartered vessels and 13 commercially managed vessels.

The company also has five MR product tankers under construction.