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OW Tankers A/S, a subsidiary of bankrupt marine fuel supplier OW Bunker and owner of its delivery ships, has been taken over by a newly created company called Alba Tankers ApS, Reuters reports

Henrik Holst Pedersen, Fleet Manager at OW Tankers, told the news agency that the Alba Tankers takeover, which has the trustees of the bankrupt company on its board, is part of the process of securing assets for the estate.

On its website, OW Tankers is said to operate 29 vessels, 10 of which are listed as owned and 19 of which are said to be on time charter. However, Pedersen informed Denmark's TV2 News yesterday that the firm currently owns seven ships.

"The seven ships remain anchored. We have not had anything to sail with, and it is cheaper to have the ships lying offshore. They are located on the border of international waters. It is quite common that you do this when you have nothing to do," Pedersen said.

In addition to the seven vessels, Pedersen confirmed that the company has 115 members of staff.

"We are not a very big part of the company," Pedersen told Reuters. "We're the ship-owning part of OW Bunker and Trading. And that was our biggest client, of course, but we have always been run as a separate company."

Explaining the reason for the sale to Alba Tankers, Peter Fogh, a partner at law firm Plesner - an OW Bunker trustee together with Gorrisen Federspiel - told Berlingske: "The sale can help to ensure that we are not forced to sell the vessels to people who come and offer a ridiculous bid because they think that we are bankrupt. It is in everyone's interest."

Negotiations to sell the seven vessels to interested buyers are now set to begin.