Scorpio Tankers has taken advantage of the thriving market for transportation of refined oil to buy back six so-called MR product tanker vessels from Chinese ship lender CMB Financial Leasing.

The major oil carrier originally sold and leased back the ships in August 2018.

That type of maneuver was widespread among tanker operators at the time, as they were struggling with low freight prices and were thus in need of cash.

Tanker shipowners turn to leasing in tough market

The reality for carriers of refined oil is completely different today.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine means that Western countries are now bringing in oil from destinations further away than Russia, entailing longer sailing distances, resulting in highly elevated income for many companies. 

Scorpio Tankers, Torm, Norden and Hafnia have all reported big profits recently.

Scorpio Tankers is registered in Monaco but listed in New York. The repurchase of the six vessels will go through at the start of next year and eliminate USD 99m of company debt.

English edit: Kristoffer Grønbæk

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