Ardmore sells ageing tanker for $34.3m as fleet renewal accelerates

By James Calloway

Ardmore Shipping sold the 49,859-dwt product tanker Ardmore Endeavour for $34.3 million, moving a 2013-built vessel out of its fleet as it expands a six-ship, $269 million newbuilding program in China.

The New York-listed owner, led by Gernot Ruppelt, disclosed the transaction in its third-quarter results. The agreement was reached during the third quarter and completed in October; the buyer’s identity remains undisclosed.

S&P sources have tied the tanker, now trading as MRC Beril, to Türkiye’s Mercan Group. The vessel was built at South Korea’s STX shipyard and is not fitted with a scrubber.

What does the sale change for Ardmore’s fleet?

According to Ardmore, the disposal continues its strategy of "taking advantage of strong secondhand vessel values" while investing in newer product and chemical tanker tonnage. The immediate commercial shift is a smaller ownership footprint in older tonnage, not an immediate increase in carrying capacity.

Ardmore also sold the 2014-built Ardmore Engineer earlier this year for $35.5 million. The tanker subsequently joined India’s Great Eastern Shipping. Together, the two announced sales carry a combined value of $69.8 million.

For shippers and freight forwarders, the commercial watchpoint is available MR tonnage and the rate attached to it. Ardmore’s sale removes one vessel from its own fleet, while six new ships remain a long-dated source of additional capacity rather than an immediate supply response.

How large is the Wuhu expansion?

Ardmore has expanded its newbuilding program at China’s Wuhu Shipyard to six 40,500-dwt handysize product and chemical tankers. The company exercised its final two options in August, lifting the program to six vessels.

The six-ship investment is valued at approximately $269 million, and the first vessel is due in late 2028. Each newbuilding will be smaller than the tanker just sold on nominal deadweight, at 40,500 dwt against 49,859 dwt.

That delivery timing leaves the near-term fleet anchored by existing ships, with the newbuilding renewal concentrated beyond 2028. For freight buyers, the order is a forward supply signal, not immediate relief on near-term rates. For owners and operators, the question is whether earnings at Ardmore’s fourth-quarter fixed rate can persist as more handysize tonnage enters service.

What do the freight rates show?

Ardmore said it had fixed approximately 45% of its fourth-quarter MR tanker revenue days at an average rate of $57,600 per day. That compares with an average of $27,031 per day in the third quarter.

The increase amounts to $30,569 per day, or roughly 113%, lifting the average more than twofold. Ardmore described the backdrop as a "stronger product tanker market."

For shippers, the move raises the cost signal for MR freight; for forwarders, it offers a benchmark rather than a quoted price for a specific cargo. The disclosed fourth-quarter figure covers 45% of revenue days, not 45% of cargo volumes, and should not be read as a full-quarter average.

Ardmore’s asset rotation links the stronger operating rates with the sale of older ships. Favorable secondhand values allow disposal proceeds to support newbuildings, leaving the company exposed to whether operating rates remain firm before the first late-2028 delivery.

Because coverage is partial, the final quarterly average remains open to further fixing. Carriers retain exposure to the rate market, while shippers and forwarders should treat $57,600 as a reference point rather than a guaranteed price for cargo booked later in the quarter.

The six-ship Wuhu program will shape the supply backdrop from late 2028, when the first vessel is due, placing the stronger fourth-quarter rate environment against a larger pool of newer product and chemical tanker tonnage.

For freight buyers and owners, Ardmore’s remaining rate disclosures and the pace of its six Wuhu deliveries will determine whether the stronger fourth-quarter backdrop persists as newer capacity arrives from late 2028.