Meadway Bulkers, a newly set up company controlled by George Dellaportas, has made its first growth move with the purchase of a nine-year-old, Japanese-built panamax.
The acquisition of the 78,100-dwt Nord Sirius (built 2012) for about $19.5m is noteworthy for several reasons, market sources familiar with the deal told TradeWinds.
The Dellaportas family usually opts for newbuilding tonnage. Meadway Bulkers, which began operating as an independent outfit last month, says on its website that it does not invest in secondhand vessels and that it “believes in the exquisite art of shipbuilding” instead.
However, current market conditions have forced the company to make an exception to this rule.
Meadway Bulkers pounced on secondhand tonnage to reap the benefits from a spike in bulker freight rates, which may vanish by the time a newbuilding is delivered, sources said.
Furthermore, finding an appropriate newbuilding slot is becoming increasingly difficult as shipyards hesitate to commit to fresh orders amid larger-than-expected price hikes for steel plates.
South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries announced earlier this month that it took on more than KRW 500bn ($445m) in provisions, mainly due to rising steel costs.
The Nord Sirius may not be a newbuilding but brokers describe the Shin Kurushima Toyohashi-built ship as a “top-notch” vessel.
Several Greek buyers were reported to be in the race for the Japanese-controlled vessel when it was again reported sold last month, including US-listed serial ship buyers Castor Maritime and Globus Maritime.
The acquisition of the Nord Sirius from Japan’s Chiba Shipping will bring the Meadway Bulkers fleet to seven ships – one panamax, three ultramaxes, one supramax and two handysizes.
Meadway Shipping & Trading, the traditional Dellaportas company now led by George’s brother, Costas, has recently pounced on secondhand tonnage as well.
Before an amical asset split between the two siblings, Meadway Shipping acquired the 61,600-dwt Ultra Prosperity (built 2010) from Japan’s Nagashiki Kisen. It has been renamed Luna Rossa.
The sons of Meadway Shipping’s late founder — Dionysios “Dennis” Dellaportas — have split the company’s assets to allow each to pursue separate paths.
While they are heading off in different directions, clients have been told it will be business as usual as the company again grows its fleet.
