Danish tanker shipping company Torm has increased its fleet after purchasing eight second-hand Medium Range (MR) vessels in a €340m ($371m) agreement. 

The operator will bring its total fleet size to 96 vessels with the deal, which was announced alongside the sale of one of TORM’s other MR vessels for $23.3m. 

CEO Jacob Meldgaard said: “We are pleased to once more announce a partially share-based transaction to acquire vessels. Since 2021, TORM has utilized partially share-based transactions to expand the fleet, even before the product tankers market took off. 

“This model highlights the strong trust the sellers have in our One TORM platform and their firm belief in market fundamentals.” 

As highlighted by Meldgaard, the purchase of the vessels was agreed with €238m in cash, funded with traditional bank financing, and the issuance of at least 2.65m shares. 

The eight ships were all built at Hyundai Mipo Dockyard in South Korea between 2014 and 2015 and six of them are fitted with scrubbers, they will all be delivered to TORM during Q3 and Q4 2024.

The purchase continues TORM’s history of purchasing second-hand vessels for its fleet expansion, with the company adding seven 2011-2013 built LR1 vessels to its ownership in 2023. 

During a visit to Copenhagen earlier this year, TORM told Ship Technology that its fleet expansion strategy was informed by its 2050 net zero ambitions, with the company choosing to invest in short-term solutions while the industry investigates long-term solutions. 

Lars Mathiasen, TORM’s head of commercial decarbonisation, said: “We are trading our ships on a spot basis as the availability of fuels is, to us, simply too uncertain yet. 

“That’s why we have taken this strategic path to heavily invest in short-term decarbonisation while we wait for some clarity on future fuels, prior to investing in new assets.”