Greek shipowner Astra Shipmanagement appears to have concluded a successful asset play by selling a vintage supramax for nearly three times as much as the company paid for the ship in 2016.
European and US brokers said the 50,296-dwt bulker Alithini (built 2001) was sold to an undisclosed buyer for $8.4m to $8.5m.
Astra's Stefanos Koropoulis said: “We confirm [the] vessel is committed to Chinese buyers at mid-$8m.”
The company bought the Mitsui E&S Shipbuilding-constructed Alithini in June 2016 — then named the Falcon — from New York-listed Eagle Bulk Shipping for just $3.3m. Astra put the ship up for sale in March last year, when it likely would only fetch $5m, but no sale was completed at the time.
The company could also lock in a profit if it chooses to sell the 73,000-dwt bulker Elpida (built 2001), which it bought as Anastacia C in November 2016 for $4.9m. The Sumitomo Heavy Industries-built ship is likely worth $9m today.
Apart from the Alithini, Astra has a fleet of seven vessels, comprising two containerships and five bulkers from handymax to post-panamax size.
The company was founded in October 2014 by Koropoulis and his brother, Aris. They are both nephews of Martinos brothers Dinos, Thanassis and Andreas, who run Thenamaris, Eastern Mediterranean Maritime (EastMed) and Minerva Marine, respectively.
Astra started with four ships from Thenamaris.
Meanwhile, there are reported sales of other supramax bulkers that appear not to be true. Brokers in both the US and Europe reported that Lorentzen Skibs of Norway had sold the 52,000-dwt Anna (built 2002) to a Chinese buyer for $8.8m, but shipowner Nicolai E Lorentzen said this was untrue.
“I cannot understand where these reports are coming from,” he said.
