The Greek owner is understood to be in talks to purchase the DSME-built, 321,000-dwt Blue Aquamarine and Blue Garnet (both built 2011) for around $80m each.

The price appears attractive for Maran, as brokers had expected the ships to be worth $5m more apiece.

Last week, China VLCC Co bought a sistership, the Beijing Sunrise (built 2011), and the IHI-built, 301,000-dwt Dalian Glory (built 2011) for $165m en bloc.