Eagle Bulk Shipping’s latest addition of an ultramax bulker lacks something that most of the vessels in its fleet have: an exhaust-gas scrubber.
But that was no impediment to the Stamford, Connecticut-based owner snapping up a 2015-built unit for $24.3m, as the company confirmed in a statement on Thursday.
As Eagle continues looking for strategic acquisition opportunities in 2023, it confronts a reality: it is difficult to find scrubber-fitted tonnage in a midsize sector in which only 8% of bulkers have converted, according to databases.
While Eagle did not identify the vessel, TradeWinds has previously reported that it is the 63,600-dwt Stony Stream, which databases say was owned by US Bank Equipment Finance and managed by Nortus Management of Greece.
The unit was built at Chengxi Shipyard in China, matching Eagle’s description in the statement.
The vessel is to be renamed Gibraltar Eagle.
“This transaction is well aligned with the company’s growth strategy of enhancing its fleet composition,” Eagle said in the statement.
“Specifically, improving the age profile of the fleet, increasing the cargo capacity per vessel, and reducing emissions on a per deadweight ton basis.”
New York Stock Exchange-listed Eagle Bulk is a bit of an outlier in the midsize bulker sector in that it has outfitted 89% of its fleet of ultamaxes and supramaxes with scrubbers – now 48 ships out of 54.
Most dry bulk owners turned primarily to larger capesize units in installing the cleaners, based on their vessels’ greater fuel consumption and larger proportion of time spent at sea rather than in ports or eco zones.
About 40% of capesizes are scrubber-fitted compared to the 8% figure for midsize tonnage.
Eagle reckoned it could turn its outlier status into profit, and has been proved correct.
Even at a current fuel spread estimate of $150 per tonne between high- and very low-sulphur fuel oils, Eagle’s supramaxes and ultamaxes are expected to earn about a $2,000 per day premium on a time charter equivalent (TCE) basis.
While the Gary Vogel-led outfit did not comment on Stony Stream’s scrubber status in its statement, it is expected Eagle will not carry out a retrofit in this case based on the already high percentage of scrubber use in its existing fleet.
The owner prefers to acquire scrubber-fitted tonnage, but understands it will be difficult given the scarcity of adopters in its core vessel classes.
Eagle is the largest owner of scrubber-fitted midsize tonnage ahead of Greece's Star Bulk and Pacific Basin of Hong Kong. Together, the big three own about 35% of the roughly 325 scrubber-fitted units in the vessel class.
The current cost of installing a scrubber on a vessel of this size is estimated near $2.25m
