Thenamaris, a Greek shipping giant known for making shrewd moves in the secondhand market, has sold its oldest ultramax to a shipowning entity connected to Shanghai-based Forecastle Shipping.
Brokers widely reported over the past week that the 55,400-dwt bulker Seaboss (built 2004) went to undisclosed Vietnamese interests for $11.7m on a prompt delivery basis.
However, S&P Global’s International Ships Register this week showed the vessel as joining the Forecastle fleet under the name Rugulus I, with single-ship vehicle Boarding Shipping listed as its registered owner.
VesselsValue indicates that the deal to sell the Cosco Nantong KHI-built Seaboss was concluded at the end of March, when it was valued at just under $10m. Since then, values for older ultramaxes have fallen off slightly, and the platform now puts a spot valuation of $9.75m on the ship.
Thenamaris acquired the Seaboss in 2003 as a newbuilding resale prior to its completion. The Turkish owner that sold it received $21.5m for the brand-new ship that was delivered to Thenamaris just before the dry bulk market went into an unprecedented four-year bull run in which bulker values and charter rates climbed into the stratosphere.
The Greek owner would probably have recouped its initial investment in the ship within the first couple of years of operating, and everything afterwards would have been pure profit.
Forecastle Shipping, which was incorporated in Hong Kong in 2022, is listed as controlling three supramax bulkers and one panamax, all of which were acquired this year by single-ship entities.
TradeWinds was unable to reach Forecastle for further comment.
