ADNOC L&S Pays Record $115 Million for 15-Year-Old VLCC
The Olympic Leopard, renamed Al Yahr, sets a benchmark as secondhand tanker values surge.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Logistics Services has acquired the 15-year-old VLCC Olympic Leopard from Olympic Shipping and Management for $115 million, renaming the vessel Al Yahr, in a deal that sets a fresh benchmark for secondhand tankers of her age and size.
Built by HD Hyundai Heavy Industries in 2011, the ship has a deadweight of 319,368 tonnes. Olympic Shipping and Management had bought her in 2015 for $80 million, meaning the sale nets a substantial gain over an eleven-year hold. European shipbrokers currently value 15-year-old VLCCs at between $97 million and $100 million, itself a rise of more than 70 percent over the past twelve months — putting the ADNOC L&S price well above even that elevated benchmark.
The purchase fits a pattern rather than standing alone. In August, ADNOC L&S announced a $1.3 billion commitment to acquire five VLGCs and six VLCCs, six of them secondhand, with deliveries scheduled for the third quarter of 2026. The company appears willing to pay a premium to build that fleet quickly rather than wait for newbuild slots.
Al Yahr joins a run of recent VLCC acquisitions. ADNOC L&S also bought the Al Faya, formerly Delta Angelica, built in 2012, from Delta Tankers for roughly $116 million, and has acquired further Delta Tankers vessels whose renaming and ownership transfer are not yet complete. Separately, it bought the Front Humber and Front Vefsna, both built by Frontline in 2017, renaming them Al Magnam and Ramhan in a combined $270 million transaction — $135 million per ship. Two more VLCCs, Al Dhannah (formerly Seapassion, built 2017) and Al Yasat (formerly Celeste Nova, built 2013), round out a run of purchases that has taken the company's owned VLCC fleet to six.
Beyond its own fleet, ADNOC L&S serves as ISM manager for eight further VLCCs owned by Sinokor and MSC, and has chartered multiple VLCCs from those companies to support its export operations. The company has also been active in the newbuild market: on 10 July it returned to Jiangnan Shipyard, part of China State Shipbuilding Corporation, to order four 175,000 cubic metre LNG carriers worth $900 million for 2029 delivery, taking its total LNG newbuild count to 18.
