The sale of three Sinokor Merchant Marine containerships for recycling has failed.
Sinokor missed the cancelling date and the cash buyer declined a request to extend, according to sources.
Singapore and London-based Somap International was reported to have secured a memorandum of agreement to acquire the ships in June. The cancelling date was the end of last month.
Involved in the deal were the 16,060-ldt, 4,050-teu Hongkong Bridge and Rotterdam Bridge (both built 2001), as reported earlier by TradeWinds.
It later emerged that also included in the en bloc sale was the 4,250-teu Singapore Bridge (built 2002).
The Hongkong Bridge was reported to have been sold for $472 per ldt. Rotterdam Bridge and Singapore Bridge went for $482 per ldt, the premium accounted for by both ships having spare propellers.
“It wasn’t even a case of the vessels sailing towards the delivery port,” said an industry source.
Unconfirmed speculation points to at least two of the ships being unable to meet the delivery deadline because they were still on charter.
There is also talk in the market that Sinokor may have fixed the vessels on fresh charters for several months but there may be confusion with a separate, earlier deal involving another ship belonging to the South Korean owner.
It comes as no surprise that the cash buyer turned down the request to extend given the subsequent decline in demolition prices.
Some commented at the time of the sale that the price paid for the Hongkong Bridge, Rotterdam Bridge and Singapore Bridge was already on the high side.
Sinokor has been asked to comment on the cancellation.
