Low-profile Greek player Newport SA struck twice on the secondhand market for bulkers this month, adding to a string of acquisitions that have brought its fleet on the cusp of its 20th vessel.
The 82,300-dwt kamsarmax Tangerine Island (built 2012) — bought for about $21m — is set to become the rapidly expanding company’s 18th ship, Athens broking sources said.
The Tangerine Island deal comes hot on the heels of another purchase by Newport earlier this month. The company acquired the 29,100-dwt handysize Bay Fortune (built 2011) for about $9.5m.
The acquisitions indicate that even players who started buying vessels early in the ongoing cycle, such as Newport owner George Chatzis, remain confident enough to continue growing their fleets at today's elevated ship values.
Newport continues looking for “attractive tonnage”, a broking source familiar with the company’s thinking told TradeWinds.
Both vessels Newport bought this month squarely fall in the category that Chatzis considers attractive. They were both built in Japan and managed by Japanese shipowners.
The Tangerine Island used to be in the fleet of Funada Kaiun, while the Fortune Bay belonged to Meiho Kaiun.
Priced at about $9.5m, the Fortune Bay looks relatively cheap, even when one takes into account that the vessel is scheduled to pass its special survey later this year and also has a dry docking due.
VesselsValue estimates the Shikoku Dockyard-built vessel is currently worth $11.4m. Maritime Strategies International (MSI) puts its fair value at between $9.2m and $11.1m.
Newport was established in 2004 and its initial buying focus was on handysizes. The market crisis of 2016 served as an entry point into bigger bulkers for the company, which has acquired seven panamaxes and kamsarmaxes since.
Its buying pace accelerated significantly over the past 10 months. Newport and affiliated Grehel Shipmanagement have acquired six bulkers since July 2020, spending more than $70m in the process.
Newport is known to be working with Athens-based S&P broker Yiannis Roussos.
One of the vessels the company bought recently was Genco Shipping’s 31,900-dwt Baltic Hare (built 2009), which it renamed Agia Triada. The Hakodate Dock-built vessel changed hands early this year.
Including its two latest acquisitions, Newport and Grehel manage a total 18 vessels between them. The entire fleet was built in Japan and it consists of 10 handysizes, four panamaxes and four kamsarmaxes.
