Two expansion-minded Greek shipowners have emerged as buyers of two vessels sold by Scorpio Bulkers in March, at the height of the global coronavirus pandemic.
The biggest is the 81,200-dwt SBI Bolero (built 2015), which is believed to have fetched between $18.5m and $19m, and IHS Markit now lists as the Perseus in the fleet of Titan Maritime.
Managers at the Athens-based company did not respond to an emailed request to confirm or elaborate.
Titan Maritime has kept a very low profile since appearing on the scene in 2007. According to the Greek shipping directory, the company is led by George Rokas and has a managed fleet of four panamax bulkers, which it gradually assembled in deals spread between 2009 and 2015.
Based on available data, the move to acquire the SBI Bolero appears to be the most significant investment made by the company's owners or clients so far. Built at China's Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding, the vessel becomes the biggest and by far the youngest unit in Titan Maritime’s fleet. The company's four other vessels are between 15 and 19 years old and have been built in Japan or South Korea.
The other Greek company pouncing on a Scorpio Bulkers ship was Blue Seas Shipping, which acquired the 63,700-dwt ultramax SBI Jaguar (built 2014) for $15.7m.
This was Blue Seas' second purchase this year. In January, the Sigalas family-run company purchased the 82,000-dwt Sunny Young (built 2011) for about $15.5m.
TradeWinds understands that Blue Seas continues to be interested in further expansion, despite the current adverse conditions for dry bulk shipping.
“Prices for secondhand vessels are already dropping and they’re always on the lookout for a good opportunity,” said one source familiar with the company’s thinking.
Both Titan Maritime and Blue Seas bought their ships without scrubbers.
The same applies to a third bulker that New York-listed Scorpio Bulkers sold earlier this year, the 63,700-dwt SBI Taurus (built 2014), which is a sistership to the SBI Jaguar and is now trading in the fleet of Oman Shipping Co as Jabal Samhan.
