A fresh benchmark has been set in the vintage aframax tanker segment. The Asia Ascend (115,444 dwt, 2004, Samsung) is reported sold to an undisclosed account in China for $33m — a record price for ageing tonnage. The same was sold by Greece’s IMS in September for $22m to the Marshall Islands, registered Global Crown, who is now noted to have sold the ship. Despite the increasingly rusty profile of vessels changing hands, activity in the segment remains brisk. According to VesselsValue, around 30 aframaxes built between 2000 and 2005 have changed hands since late September. However, pricing transparency remains limited, with most deals routed through Chinese-linked entities and few values publicly disclosed. The last clearly priced transactions date back to October, when a trio of slightly smaller aframaxes (~105,000 dwt, 2004-built) were sold for just under $22m each by Greek owners including Eastmed and Minerva Marine. ]The sharp rerating becomes even more striking when compared to modern tonnage. In March, the 112,500 dwt Green Attitude (built 2018) changed hands for $71m to Minerva Marine. The same vessel had reportedly been fixed — and failed — at $55m in January, according to sales registers seen by Splash. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); });