Trafigura Buys Seven Chartered Tankers as SFL Crystallizes $175M Asset Gain
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SFL Corporation has agreed to sell seven tankers directly to Trafigura, closing out a five-year charter-and-asset strategy that began when tanker values were depressed in 2021. The transaction covers four 115,000-dwt LR2 product tankers built in 2014–2015 and three 150,000-dwt Suezmaxes built in 2019. The vessels will transfer to Trafigura during the fourth quarter of 2026 and first quarter of 2027, terminating their existing time charters at delivery. Individual prices are confidential, but SFL expects approximately $275 million in net cash proceeds after contractual profit sharing and repayment of associated debt, together with an estimated $175 million aggregate book gain. The seven ships entered SFL's fleet during 2021–2022 with roughly $300 million of fixed-rate charter backlog attached, giving the company five years of charter income before the asset appreciation is realized through the sale.
Buy weak assets. Lock in charter cash flow. Keep the upside. Sell into a stronger market.
SFL structured the seven tankers so that Trafigura supplied long-term charter coverage while SFL retained exposure to an eventual vessel sale. Five years later, the charterer is becoming the owner.
The five-year tanker trade
The sequence shows why this is more than a seven-ship asset sale.
SFL agrees to acquire three 2019-built Suezmaxes as tanker spot markets remain soft.
SFL buys four 2014–2015-built scrubber-fitted LR2s from Frontline for $160 million.
Minimum five-year charters provide contracted cash flow while SFL continues to own the vessels.
Comparable decade-old LR2s trade around $70 million-plus while modern Suezmax benchmark values approach $100 million or more.
Charters terminate on delivery and SFL crystallizes its share of the asset-value upside.
That figure is after repayment of associated debt and the contractual profit share owed under the vessel-sale mechanisms.
The vessels have already produced charter revenue for years. The disposal gain measures the sale against carrying value and is only one piece of the overall economic return.
The Seven Ships Trafigura Is Taking Over
| Vessel | Segment | Built | Capacity | Current Charterer | Firm Charter End | Sale Delivery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFL Puma | LR2 Product | 2015 | 115,000 DWT | Trafigura | Q4 2026 | Q4 2026 / Q1 2027 window |
| SFL Panther | LR2 Product | 2015 | 115,000 DWT | Trafigura | Q1 2027 | Q4 2026 / Q1 2027 window |
| SFL Tiger | LR2 Product | 2015 | 115,000 DWT | Trafigura | Q4 2026 | Q4 2026 / Q1 2027 window |
| SFL Lion | LR2 Product | 2014 | 115,000 DWT | Trafigura | Q1 2027 | Q4 2026 / Q1 2027 window |
| Marlin Santorini | Suezmax | 2019 | 150,000 DWT | Trafigura | Q4 2026 | Q4 2026 / Q1 2027 window |
| Marlin Shikoku | Suezmax | 2019 | 150,000 DWT | Trafigura | Q1 2027 | Q4 2026 / Q1 2027 window |
| Marlin Sicily | Suezmax | 2019 | 150,000 DWT | Trafigura | Q1 2027 | Q4 2026 / Q1 2027 window |
Scorpio agreed on September 29 to sell a 2014-built LR2 for $70 million and a 2015-built sister-size vessel for $73 million. SFL paid $40 million apiece for its four LR2s in 2021.
KOBC benchmark values ranged from $96.61 million for a 10-year-old Suezmax to $109.57 million for a five-year-old vessel. SFL's ships are 2019-built.
$100M LR2 facility plus $107.3M Suezmax facility.
Around $57M on the four-LR2 facility and $80M on the three-Suezmax facility.
After debt repayment and SFL's contractual profit-sharing obligation.
SFL Tanker Cycle Value Bridge
Separate contracted charter economics, operating margin and the disposal gain instead of treating the $175 million book gain as the entire investment return.
SFL collected charter hire while the debt amortized and the underlying ships appreciated. The $175 million accounting gain captures the final asset-sale layer, not the full lifecycle economics.
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