Malta-based Valloeby Shipping has taken the 10-year-old product tanker Nord Thumbelina from Norden for US$14m. The Chinese-built 38,461dwt ship is due to have a drydocking next month.

Denmark's Norden has been changing strategies when it comes to tankers, it revealed earlier this month when detailing its Q2 results. Norden's CEO Jan Rindbo explained that the company has "adjusted our exposure to a tanker market where the rates, earlier than expected, have dropped significantly".

Norden said it its optimising earnings in a market that is expected to be weaker than it has been over the past 18 months.