The four VLCCs purchased by Euronav for $342m, announced yesterday, were bought from Maersk Tankers, the Danish group has revealed.

Maersk Tankers had the ships on "unprofitable" bareboat charters, and so chose to buy them up and sell them on.

Morten Engelstoft, Maersk Tankers ceo commented, "we have decided to pursue an exit of these unprofitable charters by purchasing the vessels from their current owners with the intention to subsequently resell them at an appropriate time."

In this case the appropriate time was not long coming, as Maersk simultaneously agreed to sell the ships to Euronav, which has already bought Maersk Tankers' entire owned VLCC fleet of 15 ships for $980m.

The Japanese built ships will deliver to Euronav in 2014 and 2015, and are part of Maersk Tankers' strategy to become a pure product tanker outfit.