The financial failure of South Korea’s Korea Line Corporation (KLC) earlier thisyear has seen a number of the carrier’s ships sold off in recent months. In April Scorpio Tankers acquired KLC’s medium-range tankers Blue Coral and Blue Diamond, both built in 2008, for $70 Million en bloc, while the Aframax tanker Blue Jasper, also built in 2008, went to South Korea’s Hyundai Merchant Marine (HMM) for $44.5 million. HMM had earlier acquired sistership Blue Sapphire in Europe for $44.5 million.
Denmark’s Kirk Kapital was able to obtain the slightly newer 51,291dwt MRtanker Blue Jade, as well as sistership Blue Emerald, both built in 2009, for $35.2 million each. Kirk, which is rapidly building up its fleet of product tankers, is controlled by Gunhild Kirk Johansen, the sister of Kjeld Kirk Kristensen, who controls Denmark’s famous Lego toy group.
