Samudera Shipping offloads two tankers for US$14.5 million

Samudera Shipping Line has agreed to sell two Indonesian-flagged oil tankers for a combined US$14.5 million, banking an estimated disposal gain of roughly US$6 million as it continues to thin out its ageing tanker fleet.

The company's subsidiary, PT Samudera Shipping Indonesia, signed the sale agreement with an unrelated Indonesian buyer on 22 October 2026. The deal covers the 2006-built MT Sinar Agra and MT Sinar Busan, medium-sized products tankers with deadweight capacities of 11,243 tonnes and 11,277 tonnes respectively. Delivery is expected during the fourth quarter of 2026.

Both vessels are working at the moment. They are currently operating under time charter agreements, and subject to the existing charterers' consent, they will transfer to the buyer with their charters attached. That structure preserves cargo continuity for the charterers while handing the new owner contracted revenue from day one.

What is the money picture?

The transaction settles in cash: a 10% deposit up front, the remaining 90% payable on delivery. The numbers explain why Samudera moved. The two tankers carried a combined book value of approximately US$8 million at the end of June 2026, while an independent valuation dated 30 September put their combined market value at around US$13.6 million. Selling at US$14.5 million clears the valuation by roughly US$900,000.

After estimated transaction costs and before tax, Samudera expects to record a disposal gain of approximately US$6 million. Net proceeds are estimated at US$14 million. The company plans to direct the funds toward general working capital, fleet renewal or other investment opportunities.

Samudera said the sale followed a review of the vessels' age, condition, employment and prevailing market conditions — standard language, but the maths tells the story. Twenty-year-old tonnage fetching nearly double its book value is a seller's exit, not a hold.

Is this part of a bigger fleet shift?

Yes. The agreement follows Samudera's disposals of MT Sinar Malahayati and MT Sinar Mendawai earlier in 2026, with those transactions completed in June and July. Taken together with the latest sale, the cumulative deals push the transaction into discloseable territory under Singapore Exchange rules.

Four tanker sales in roughly six months point to a deliberate retreat from the segment rather than opportunistic asset play. The counterweight sits on the container side: Samudera recently signed shipbuilding contracts for two new 3,000 TEU container vessels. Capital is rotating out of 2006-built tankers and into modern container tonnage aligned with the company's core regional business.

For counterparties in the Indonesian coastal and products trades, the change of ownership on two chartered tankers is unlikely to disrupt operations in the near term, since the charters travel with the ships. The longer-term question is whether the new owner keeps the vessels in the same employment or redeploys them once the charters run off.

For Samudera's shareholders, the transaction converts ageing assets into roughly US$14 million of net cash and a US$6 million book gain ahead of the Q4 delivery window, strengthening the balance sheet ahead of newbuilding payments. Expect the proceeds — and the fleet's centre of gravity — to keep shifting toward containers.