Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA) is no longer a bulker owner and has sold its 13 remaining dry cargo vessels to a joint venture between JP Morgan and MUR Shipping.
The big-ticket deal comprises 13 handysize bulk carriers, which was first reported by Le Marin in France and confirmed by LDA in a statement on Friday.
VesselsValue estimates the combined market value of the 13 bulkers at $304.6m.
LDA said that together with its partners, Groupe Roullier and Peugeot Invest, it has agreed to sell the fleet to institutional investors advised by JP Morgan Global Alternatives’ Global Transportation Group and Netherlands-headquartered MUR Shipping.
“The ships will be gradually delivered to their future owner in the coming weeks,” LDA said in the statement.
Andy Dacy, CEO of JP Morgan’s Asset Management’s Global Transport Group, told TradeWinds: “We are excited to complete this acquisition and see this as a natural extension of our shipping activities.
“We have had a long-standing trading relationship with MUR and these vessels will allow us to deepen our combined commitments to our joint customer base.”
LDA did not confirm the names of the vessels, but the sales candidates appear to be the fleet managed by the company’s commercial management arm, LD Bulk.
The fleet comprises eight handymaxes of around 40,000 dwt that were built at Tianjin Xingang in China. These ships are: La Briantais (built 2013); La Guimorais, La Landriais, La Richardais (all built 2014); and La Solognais, La Chambordais, La Sauternais and La Sillonais (all built 2015).
Also being sold are two other 40,600-dwt handymaxes — La Partenais and La Chesnais (both built 2015) — that were built at Zhejiang Yangfan in China.
These 10 geared vessels are all built to the latest generation of the B.Delta 37 design.
Another duo of handysizes built at China’s Jiangmen Nanyang also appear to be included in the sale. These bulkers are the 39,875-dwt La Fresnais and the 39,919-dwt La Loirais (both built 2018).
MUR Shipping will take over the vessels’ contracts once the ships are delivered, according to Le Marin.
LDA has historically fixed its owned bulkers on both short and long-term contracts of affreightments (COAs).
The sale of LDA’s bulker fleet marks a step away from the company’s long-standing core business — it transported its first bulk cargo over 165 years ago — but the French firm remains active in the dry-cargo chartering market.
Following the sale, LRA’s owned fleet will consist of cable vessels, tugs, ferries, research ships and accommodation units.
It will still have a hand in the dry-cargo business through its subsidiary LD Ports & Logistics, which handles transshipment of commodities including iron ore, bauxite, grain and coal at major export hubs around the world.
TradeWinds has approached MUR Shipping for further comment.
