Scorpio Tankers announced today that it has agreed to time charter-in a product tanker. A 2013 built MR product tanker will be time chartered-in for two years at $14,121 per day and is expected to be delivered by the end of April 2013.

The latest S&P report by Lion Shipbrokers mentions many deals involving Greek players this week, most notable of which came in the tanker segment, where M/T "NOMAD" (44,999 dwt, blt 2003 Hyundai/S.Korea), M/T "SINBAD" (44,999 dwt, blt 2003 Hyundai/S.Korea) and M/T "GALAHAD" - (44,996 dwt, blt 2003 Hyundai/S. Korea) were sold en bloc to Greek buyers for $15.5 million each.

Royal Dutch Shell Plc, plans to double the amount of liquefied natural gas available for trucks and marine vessels in North America. Shell will build units in Ontario and Louisiana capable of producing about 500,000 tons a year, said James Burns, general manager of the company’s LNG for transport unit in the Americas.

Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent oil trader, hired vessels for 5,495 voyages in 2012 and said it expects shipping to continue to be “severely challenged,” especially for tankers that carry crude oil.

In the secondhand market, the Greek presence was shown in the acquisition of an enbloc deal of three mr tankers built 2003 at $ 15.5 million each, while in the newbuilding market, Marmaras Navigation, as reported from previous week, has placed an order for three capesize vessels at Sungdong of South Korea for a price of about $47 million each with delivery in 2015.

Capital Product Partners L.P. has reached a conditional agreement with Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. ("OSG") and certain of OSG's subsidiaries regarding the long term bareboat charters of three of its product tanker vessels.

Scorpio Tankers announced today that it has exercised options with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard Co., Ltd. of South Korea for the construction of four MR Product tankers for approximately $33.0 million each and two Handymax ice class-1A (37,000 DWT) product tankers for approximately $31.25 million each.

Fearnleys Weekly notes the sale of tanker vessel Atlantic Lombardia (35.841 - 2000) to Greek buyers for USD 10,30 million. The report also mentions the acquisition of bulk carrier Nikkei Tiger (45.363 - 1997) by Greeks for a reported USD 8,10 million. In the newbuilding market, it appears the Lunar holidays put a natural damper on new confirmed shipbuilding contracts.

In the VLCC segment this week we had the sale of the “MAERSK ELI” (308,491 dwt - blt 2000 S. Korea) which was reported sold at price of around $32m by Monaco based buyers SBM, Intermodal notes in the latest market report.