Greece’s Diligent Holdings remains on a steady expansion course, which has catapulted the Athens-based company from a single-ship outfit a little more than two years ago to a midsize entity with nine bulkers.
Its latest move shows Diligent as bold as never before. The 58,000-dwt Pollux Star (built 2012), which joined the company’s fleet last week under its new name of Joker, represents its dearest acquisition so far.
The Tsuneishi Heavy Industries (Cebu)-built ship is said to have fetched $17.5m when Japan’s Kambara Kisen sold it to unidentified buyers in mid-June.
Buyer's identity confirmed
A senior Diligent manager confirmed the vessel had entered the company's fleet but declined to comment on any further details.
Diligent, which was set up in 2011, has been one of the fastest expanding small Greek shipowners.
The Pollux Star becomes the ninthship it has purchased since early 2016, when the bulker market bottomed out. The company is estimated to have paid at least $75m in total for the seven handysizes and two supramaxes that make up its fleet.
All of Diligent’s ships have been constructed in Japan or by Japanese-controlled yards, while six of its bulkers have come from Japanese sellers. Its managers prefer to make deals with Japanese owners for locally built tonnage.
The purchase of the Pollux Star also proves that Diligent — originally a pure-play handysize owner — is serious about expanding into the supramax segment.
The acquisition follows on from a deal in October last year when, in yet another move that failed to attract attention, it acquired the Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding-constructed, 55,700-dwt supramax Nonna Ulia (renamed Charisma, built 2010), reportedly for $14.6m.
Quiet on company strategy
Diligent's managers declined to discuss the company's strategy or future plans.
Greek interest in secondhand supramaxes was alive and kicking in spring, when players such as Times Navigation and AM Nomikos picked up at least four such vessels.
However, Greek purchasing activity in the sector seems to have slowed down over the summer, possibly because of increasing uncertainty about the way freight rates and ship values will move.
Only two, hitherto unidentified, buyers from Greece are believed to have acquired supramaxes in July, both from Japanese sellers. The 55,500-dwt Navios Armonia (built 2008) went for between $13m and $14.2m, and the 53,500-dwt Fortune Unity (built 2006) was offloaded for between $10.5m and $12.5m, based on varying broker estimates.
In June, another unidentified Greek owner is said to have bought the 53,500-dwt Vela Ocean (built 2008) for $11.5m from Mitsubishi Corp.
Greeks have also been active sellers of supramaxes. In the most characteristic deal, which has been reported but not yet confirmed, Vrontados sold the three 50,300-dwt sisterships Maria L, Kaity L and Christina L (all built 2003) to Chinese interests for a total of about $24.5m.
