Frontline Ltd. Seeking To Sell More Ships

November 2, 2011

Bermuda’s Frontline Ltd., the oil tanker operator led by Norway-born billionaire John Fredriksen, has said it’s looking to sell three more 1990s-built ships as the company modernises its fleet while earnings plunge.

The “Front Alfa”, “Front Beta” and “Front Delta” all built in 1992 or 1993 and capable of hauling 1 million barrels of crude, are on the market, Jens Martin Jensen, Singapore-based chief executive officer of the company’s management unit, told the Bloomberg business news service.

Earlier this week Hamilton-based Frontline said it had agreed to sell the “Front Hunter”, another Suezmax-class vessel that was built in 1996 at a loss of $29.6 million. The company said last month it would lose $36.3 million on the sale of the “Front Fighter” and the “Front Striver”, built in 1994 and 1992 respectively.

“If you get a good price, everything is for sale,” Inger Marie Klemp, Frontline’s chief financial officer, told Bloomberg.

While sale prices for the “Front Hunter”, “Front Fighter” and “Front Striver” weren’t disclosed, the ships fetched prices just above scrap values, industry analysts have said.

Earnings for the vessels have fallen 56 percent this year, according to the Baltic Exchange, the London-based publisher of shipping costs. Returns have declined as the global fleet of crude tankers expands faster than seaborne trade in oil.

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