Erasmus Shipinvest has unveiled a fresh string of acquisitions as it pushes ahead with plans to grow its fleet of small boxships and gas carriers.
The Athens-based company confirmed three purchases that double its trading container ship fleet and expand its budding LPG stable.
On 28 June, Erasmus took delivery in Busan, South Korea of the 1,891-teu Starship Leo (built 2013) — a vessel that brokers reported sold earlier this year by Namsung Shipping for about $16m.
The eco-designed ship went straight into period employment for AP Moller-Maersk and will now trade as Erasmus Leo on an intra-Asian route.
Erasmus’ second boxship acquisition is fresher. The 1,496-teu Warnow Chief (built 2009) was sold by clients of Cyprus-based Marlow Navigation for about $11m, according to brokers.
Su, Erasmus chairman and chief executive, would not discuss the price of the two boxships but explained that they are part of his company’s long-term strategy.
“We are determined to build up a scalable fleet of modern feeder containerships in the near future, as a diversification of our overall group activities,” he said in an e-mail.
Erasmus, which was previously a pure-play bulker player teaming up with Asian partners to serve commodity traders with fixed, long-term time charter arrangements, expanded into feeder container ships in late 2022.
As TradeWinds reported at the time, it took delivery of a newbuilding ordered at Kyokuyo shipyard in Japan, the 1,096-teu ANL Tasman Trader (built 2022). Sister ship CMA CGM Blossom joined the fleet a year later.
Su told TradeWinds in April 2024 that Erasmus has another pair of boxships on order but did not disclose their delivery date and shipyard.
On the way to 20 gas vessels
The company has also been making progress in its second expansion front of gas carriers.
Erasmus took delivery in May of the modern, fully pressurised 7,500-cbm Renaud (renamed Gas Goodwill, built 2018) — which probably changed hands for about $22.5m, according to VesselsValue.
The company’s foray into small LPG carriers began in February 2022, when it took delivery of its first-ever vessel of that type.
Su told TradeWinds in April this year that he had eight gas carriers, including at least two newbuildings being built in Japan.
Erasmus focuses on small, coastal pressurised ships of between 5,000 cbm and 11,000 cbm. Su expressed the hope of eventually developing a fleet of up to 20 such vessels.
The company has set up two separate outfits to manage its newly acquired vessels — Erasmus Gas Carriers and Erasmus Container Lines.
It also maintains a presence in its traditional bulker segment.
Its exposure there, however, has shrunk lately with the sale of two older units, the 77,100-dwt Glory Amsterdam (renamed Broad Forward, built 2006) and 77,700-dwt Glory Trader (built 2004).
