A company linked to Oslo-based Lorentzens Skibs is set for an asset play on a handymax bulker it purchased as part of a three-vessel deal in August 2016.

Company chief executive Nicolai E Lorentzen confirmed the 48,000-dwt Nordic Kiel (built 2001) is in the process of being sold.

However, US shipbroking sources claimed the Sanoyas-built ship had already been sold for $8.2m.

The Nordic Kiel cost the investors less than $4m.

The bulker, which is due for special survey in November, was one of three ships purchased by a limited partnership company, Nordic Supra IS.

The entity was set up by finance house Ness, Risan & Partners with Lorentzen as its commercial manager. One of the trio, the 52,000-dwt Nordic Aarhus (built 2000), was sold last summer for $6.8m, which was twice the figure Nordic Supra IS paid.

Sweet spot

“In retrospect, we hit spot on. We should have invested more,” Lorentzen said.

He added it is too early to say what the investors would do with the last of the trio, the 56,000-dwt Nordic Stavanger (built 2011).

That Mitsui-built ship was likely purchased for some $12m to $13m. It is now worth about $16.5m to $17m.

Lorentzens Skibs has a 10% in the Nordic Supra venture, while Lorentzen’s associates have additional stakes.

The Lorentzens Skibs website lists a diversified fleet of 16 vessels, including containerships, an offshore vessel, reefers, chemical tankers and six bulk carriers, among the Nordic Supra vessels.

In October, the company bought the 1,740-teu containership Hansa Magdeburg (built 2003) for $4.7m, through a limited partnership company set up by Fearnley Finans.

Due to the increasing values of the containerships and bulkers last year, Lorentzens Skibs' net asset value likely increased last year. But profits will not enter the accounts until the assets are sold, said Lorentzen, who controls the company alongside his brother and sister.

The sale of the Nordic Kiel comes at a time when values for handymax bulkers are on the rise. The $8.2m price tag is somewhat higher than VesselsValue’s estimate of $7.33m, and near double its $4.41m estimate this time last year.