UPDATE 1-Overseas Shipholding posts higher Q1 profit

* Q1 EPS $4.53

* Q1 time charter revenue down 22 pct

* Q1 VLCC TCE rates more than halves

May 4 (Reuters) - Oil transportation company Overseas Shipholding Group Inc (OSG.N) reported an 8 percent rise in first-quarter profit, helped by a gain from vessel sales.

For the quarter, the New York-based company reported net income of $121.8 million, or $4.53 a share, up from $112.4 million, or $3.60 a share, a year earlier.

Quarterly results included a gain from vessel sales of $4.83 a share and shipyard contract termination costs of $1.34 a share, related to its U.S. flag unit, the company said.

Time charter revenue fell 22 percent to $292.8 million as very large crude carrier (VLCC) time charter equivalent (TCE) rates more than halved during the quarter.

Shares of the company closed at $33.02 Friday on the New York Stock Exchange. For the alerts, double-click [ID:nWNAB2426] (Reporting by Shradhha Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by Deepak Kannan)